We Are Born Innocent
by Mademoiselle Anime Amour
Summary: Moving to a new city is heck for Namine Tasaki. She has the jock brother, the divorced parents, and everything bad in between. Still, being friends with a hippie, a motorcycle freak, and quirky others is abnormal, isn't it? And so is that shy guy. Rated T
1. Review

Chapter 1: Review

The ocean. It's always been there for me as long as I can remember. When I was four, my mom and dad would drive me and my brother over to the beach to play. That was when times were different, and Dad wasn't talking on his cellphone 24/7. Well, I guess when you're older, the times change, right? When Sora and I kept splashing each other, a huge wave would usually come and crash over both of us. The sound of the rushing blue water would welcome me, and I could hear the echoes of it even after the wave left. Like a memory, that sound still stays with me, reminds me of happier times. Any more I feel that kind of happiness just doesn't last. Mom and Dad got divorced by the time I was ten, and I still don't know why. Maybe it was because Dad got too caught up in business deals. Maybe it was because Mom nagged him a lot.

Either way, I ended up living in a broken home. What are the chances? Hm, at this rate as divorce is growing more "popular", I'd say three to one. The odds are pretty huge. Then again, I was never that great at math, so what the heck do I know? As I stared out at the ocean, trying to recollect my thoughts, I wondered how I did wind up this way.

How can something so perfect turn out to be so wrong? I guess this goes without saying: stuff like this happens to kids like me and Sora all the time. Speaking of him, he doesn't talk to me much any more. Time to review.

Sora became the popular guy, and I, his sister Namine, became the outcast when we were in junior high. He rose to the occasion after our parents finalized their divorce.

He decided to participate in sports, join the debate team, get himself elected to Student Council, and be all Goody Two Shoes Mr. Perfect. I just decided that I _wanted _to retreat within myself. After all, I was just Sora Tasaki's little sister, right? Where the hell did I fit in? Here's the answer: nowhere. No one really wanted to talk to the shy girl, except the few people who actually wanted to get to know me. But, I get ahead of myself. I drew a lot, sang sometimes, but never really joined any clubs. And, judging by my wimpy physique, I couldn't really get into sports either. Here are some stats.

Toward the end of middle school, I made five friends. Sora had fifty friends and a girlfriend.

Eighth grade was awesome. I would get to say goodbye to my crummy yellow locker and my favorite bullies. Oh, and no more school counselor ragging on me, asking, "Are you OK? Do you need to talk?" every five seconds. I swear to God she wanted me to have a problem. But, life here had been OK, aside from the facts the popular kids treated me like crap, I got my first brush with depression, and Sora continued to upstage me in everything. But, junior high is filled with so much drama anyway. Everywhere you look, you can find it. You don't need to look for a rainbow with the Lucky Charms guy's pot of gold at the end. That's my weird philosophy, though. Still, despite all the stuff I went through, I made it out all right. Then, Mom told us on the morning of the last day of school that we were moving.

Wasn't that perfect timing? Besides, I had to be transplanted from my childhood home and, worse, the ocean. I wasn't too happy to say the least. In fact, I managed to hold a screaming match right then and there. Maybe I was suffering from too much junior high drama. So, Sora had to kiss his replaceable girlfriend goodbye, and I ended up crying when I told my friends. They were sad but hoped I would come back for visits. I promised them I would. Now, I watched the waves lap the shores of the shore, my last day here on my childhood beach. Tomorrow, I would leave for a bigger city, noise, and a new high school to attend in about a week as a freshman while Sora would be a sophomore. He would be a nice, popular sophomore while I would be an invisible freshman.

I would enjoy the outcast life again anyway. I was completely used to it. If I wasn't by now, I would be way more fragile, which is one label I don't appreciate. I was going to be fifteen soon, but everyone back at middle school said I looked like I was ten. Maybe I do. I don't care. I planned on forgetting about how sucky middle school was. I guess that maybe being a freshman won't be so bad. Sora said he had a good year last year, but then again he's him. Mr. Popular wants to be Homecoming King someday. I just want to be left alone, because being the new kid is going to be so hard anyway. Besides, people are likely to tease me, but life goes on. So, goodbye yellow brick road.

I'm moving on to roads of concrete.


	2. Family

**A/N: Hey again, guys. The reason I chose to update so soon was that I want to get the REALLY angsty chapters out of the way. There still might be a little angst in the chapters, but there will be less of it. I mean, after this chapter, most of it will be humor anyway. I'm just trying to be as realistic as I can here. Thanks, DarextoxDream for reviewing las time. XD**

**Disclaimer: I don't own KH. I also don't own any references--they belong to pop culture. XD**

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**Chapter 2: Family**

It's not the first day of high school yet, but we're all settled in now. The satellite TV guys installed it in our house the day after we moved. That's where Mom and Sora found me all day, eating the skinny Cheetos (they have to be the skinny kind, not the puffy kind). TV has always been there for me too, but not as long as the ocean. Plus, the ocean doesn't have commercials. They knew not to talk to me, because I was so absorbed in my own little world. I've been stuck there for almost five years, and I doubt I'll ever escape it. It's a very nice thought, though. When Dad left, I depended on my artsy projects and the indoors to keep me sane. I rarely went out, not even for a bite to eat at McDonald's. I was a pathetic, miserable person.

Though I've recovered slightly since then, I just like being lazy and lounging around the house all day. It's what I do best. Anyway, at one point, my favorite show _House _came on. It was a rerun, of course, but that show is interesting no matter what. I always look forward to that doctor's epic quotes. Sora interrupted me after he came in, munching on a bag of Funyuns to fill his large appetite after shooting some hoops. We live in a very suburban neighborhood now, lawn mowing and shrub trimming and all. I hate it. It's so conformist, enough to suffocate an artist like me. Once we moved in here, my creative well has just dried up. I don't know why either.

So, there was Sora, eating his onion flavored snacks like he was used to living here in this stupid place. Personally, I hadn't quite adjusted yet.

"Hey, Nam," he drawled in greeting. "Are you watching that doctor show again?"

I didn't turn away from the TV. "What's it look like, Captain Obvious?"

"Look, you didn't have to get all smarta—!" He was about to yell at me before suddenly stopping. I guess he didn't want to put that much effort into actually paying attention to me. Fair enough. At this point, we're used to living separate lives.

He stuffed his hands into his expensive American Eagle jeans pockets. "Mom says she's gonna take us to the mall this afternoon, shop for school clothes, you know."

Cue my eye rolling. "Screw that. The supplies matter to me more."

We had gone shopping for binders and pencils and stuff two days earlier. It had gone a little something like this. Mom wasted too much time in the make-up section, Sora was too busy chatting up two teenage girls, and I gazed longingly at some colored pencils. The supply list didn't mention these, but would be nice to have them nonetheless. My old ones had pretty much bitten the dust. To hold these shiny new pencils, smell the woody scent off them as they touched paper, and look at all those colors would be very rewarding. Maybe if I sneaked them into the cart I pulled for everybody...

"Namine, don't buy those colored pencils," Mom sighed irritably. "They're a waste of money. Besides, you have some at home, right?"

Yeah, but they're all crappy. I need to buy _new _ones. Do you understand, Mother? But, I shrugged the disappointment off, got a Kit-Kat bar instead. When Mom found out, she got pissed, and we yelled at each other again. She made a big deal over a candy bar that cost a whole freaking dollar fifty—any excuse to yell at me will do. Whatever, I'm just saying that shopping with my mom is never a pleasant experience. Sora at least knows when to stay out of the way.

He rolled his eyes right back at me now. "Well, aren't you a nerd?"

"Go to hell."

He stalked off. In case you haven't noticed yet, I rarely get along with my family any more.

Surprisingly, Dad is the only close family member I like. He never picked fights with me or judged me based on my status in school. I texted him after I told Sora to get lost. He said that he missed me, and he couldn't wait until this weekend, when he had visitation rights. I couldn't wait either. Meanwhile, Mom came home with some groceries, mostly healthy stuff. She says tomato, I say potato chips. Yeah, I do like my junk food, but it's not like I eat it all the time. Still, it's yet another flaw Mom never fails to point out. After reluctantly helping her put away those nasty asparagus sticks among other things, I got told to tell Sora we were heading to the mall. The mall is awesome, because I can at least get away from her and Sora.

We own a Kia, which is a rather nice car to have, I suppose. We're a well-to-do family, since both of my parents graduated college. It's just another reason for Mom to yell at me. Miraculously, she drove us to the mall without any problems or verbal fights involved. Thank God for that. Being occupied with texting Dad, though, made a difference. Sora messed around with his iPod, and I almost snapped when he blasted a Green Day song at an impossible volume. I like that band, but for his iPod to be up to a jillion decibels...By that time, Mom had parked. The mall awaited, its doors shining like the gates to a palace. I'm being kinda sarcastic there, but oh well. I headed straight to Claire's, since that store was OK.

These fingerless gloves that had a skeletal design looked cool, so I bought them. Oh, and they fit so perfectly! Other than that, I thought it was just OK. I mean, little girls shopped there with their moms, which was a bit of a turn-off. I remember when I used to shop with my mom. She picked out these pink shirts all the time, and she kept convincing me to get this sparkly T-shirt or that. Even back then, she thought her voice was the voice of reason. She figured she could convince me to do anything. I then headed over to Hot Topic to pick out some awesome hoodies. Mom was probably watching Sora wander around Abercrombie, looking for girls to talk to. I could just be alone here in my favorite store.

I got all the hoodies and random T-shirts I wanted before I took the escalator down to our planned meeting place, the food court. In that way, we could gather at one spot but still keep our distance from each other. I decided I wanted to buy sushi, but while I later ate, Sora dropped by to make fun of my food choice.

"Raw fish? That's not even meat!" he pointed out, chowing down on a hamburger.

"Oh, sorry I won't be buff enough for the football team then," I shot back, wearing a condescending smirk. He ate too much red meat, not enough leaner meats.

He just snorted and left to hit on a girl. He's always doing that; it must have had something to do with the fact he went through an ugly break-up with his girlfriend he had been serious with.

I have no idea why we don't get along any more. Maybe I should shed a little light on my family history to understand this rift better. Well, we were the perfect family back then in that small quiet town five miles from the ocean. My parents often gave each other public displays of affection when we toddlers were around to witness them. And, as little kids often do, we would wrinkle our cute noses and say, "Ewww!" But, maybe it should have been, "Yay!" Yay for us the idyllic family. Yay for happiness. Yay for no fights except the normal brother vs. sister ones. Does every teenager go through this misery, looking back on memories like pictures in a photo album? Memories of what once was but no longer wasn't? Thinking about heavy stuff makes you grow up too fast, to be honest. It's hard for me to believe I was some peaceful little girl who doodled and scribbled.

I used to show off my masterpieces to Mom and Dad, who loved them like I thought they loved me. They might still do, but Mom just sucks at showing it more than she used to. Well, I was considered the Picasso of my family, the Monet, the Da Vinci. I began painting as soon as I got tired of drawing. Sora ran around outdoors all the time, playing catch with Dad and pulling my hair. Aside from the hair pulling, though, my brother and I were regular best friends. We had each other's backs. When one sibling was being picked on, the other would make sure those bullies regretted it. There're pictures of us wearing ball caps and stuffing corn dogs in our mouths. Hm, I still laugh thinking about it. Despite Mom trying to get me to wear girly clothes, she was like my other best friend, too.

And then, different types of fights happened. These weren't sibling ones, but parent ones. Dad would stay at work longer, almost caught up in it. His boss started to make him work longer and longer hours. Mom didn't like that, considering she thought it wasn't the best for us kids. She resorted to yelling, which she still does, and tossing pans around when cooking. I'm guessing it was the case of a marriage wearing thin. But, nine-year-old me didn't see it that way. Actually, she saw it as her whole world falling apart. Sora did too, though he pretended everything was fine, which riled up my resentment toward him. Families shatter sometimes if they break apart at all. They don't just crack and get fixed like windshields.

Since Dad got worn out by the constant bad mood Mom stewed in, he realized that maybe the marriage wasn't working out. Too bad they couldn't figure that out sooner. I mean, divorce court sucks. You get to watch your parents battle it out for custody rights through their highly paid, sweet talking lawyers with the briefcases and the long-winded speeches. Ha, I'd rather watch the WWE than that! I think anybody would. Mom managed to win custody of us, and she's been a bitch ever since. Sorry, no sugar coating that one! And Sora turned all asshole on me, so that wasn't fun either. He keeps insisting the divorce was my fault, when neither of us had done anything to cause it. It was their own fault for getting married to each other.

Then again, Sora has a 3.2 GPA, so he's one to talk. All right, as you may well imagine by now, I'm the sarcastic type, the casual cynic. My friends back at my _real _home say I'm an angel. I personally don't think so, but I can see why...I guess I am a friend for life to those who want me around. And I admit I never really got into telling sex jokes. After a while, the whole hearing the slang terms of certain—ahem—body parts gets old. For some reason, though, when someone gets hit in the groin, it's still hilarious. And maybe me being an artist is taken into consideration. I see the world differently. I'm _sensitive_. Because, believe it or not, I still cry over the divorce.

It's not just the divorce either. Basic things like losing some of your shallow friends and finding out your crush at the moment is going with the school snob are what get to me. I don't know why. It's an artist's sensitivity, I guess. Usually this stuff has happened years ago. There's no beating around the bush, though. I can still tear up every now and then. Just as long as no one can see me, I can cry all I want. Today, however, I chose not to, simply because I cared less about my current situation. Four days until school started, yay. I'm already prepared to be the outcast again, armed with artillery of insults. After going through five years of sadness and broken family and middle school crap, I find it hard to be nice now. And it used to be so easy back then. Angst possesses me like that demon off _The Exorcist_. I think it's that way for everybody my age. Even Sora probably has some problems.

After I ate, we all left. Sora still had his iPod turned up loud, blasting some mindless hip-hop crap I hate. Mom, as usual, ignored it all and talked real estate with her client. Not on a cellphone, no, she's too good for one—headsets are in now, you know. I took out my sketchbook to draw something interesting. At first, I thought Inuyasha and Kagome. Then, it was aliens. But, I settled on drawing a caricature of Sora instead. I made his hair like Goku's off _Dragonball Z_, with the insane spikes that went every which way. As for his clothes, I went with variations of jock uniforms—football helmet, basketball tank top, those stupid wrestling shorts, and soccer cleats. And, of course, the piece de resistance: girls after girls surrounding him.

Every good artist like Raphael had a title for his paintings. So, up at the top, I penned the title "Living Stereotype." It's satire, get it? Once I stuffed my pencil back in my hoodie pocket, I looked over at my dearly beloved brother. Still jamming to bad commercial hip-hop. I smirked. Idiot.

"OK, Barbara, we'll get the deal set up on Tuesday," Mom jabbered away, barely stopping at a red light. "If you have any questions before then, call me."

I almost wish Mom hadn't taken that real estate job two years ago. Then again, any idiot can become an agent, so I'm not spilling too many tears over it. At least it's four days out of the week I don't hear her yelling at me. Thank you, God.

We got home without any car accidents caused by our irresponsible parent. See, miracles can happen. Time to show Sora my surprise, I thought, he turned off his rotten music by then. Odd, how he can like a rad band like Green Day yet listen to that garbage.

I showed him the picture (portrait, I should say), and he predictably got mad.

"What the hell's this crap?!?" he asked, pointing to his flattering portrayal. "There's no way my hair is like that...and why would I wear uniforms every day? And I don't hit on _that _many girls a day!!! Not even a whole month!"

"It's art." I shrugged. "It's supposed to capture the truth."

And I left him to his ranting. Like I would listen to that noise.

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**A/N: ****Don't worry, guys, Sora won't be an idiot forever. It's just that he hates being moved to this place just as much as his sis Namine does. It's natural for him to be...well, not the nicest dude in the world. As for the mother...well, things will be a bit of a roller coaster with her and Namine's relationship. It's a teenage thing, I guess. Anyway, one more chapter after this one, and they finally get to go to school.**

**So, the excitment factor will gradually go up. Don't worry about that. **

**Please review if it was OK.**


	3. Dippin' Dot Dad

**A/N: In which Namine and Sora go visit their father. Filled with random stuff, believe me. XD OK, this is the last chapter before both brother and sister FINALLY start going to school. By the way, this was when the humor instead of angst finally picked up here. But, you all probably don't care about that. OK, then, on with the story!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own KH or any random things mentioned.**

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**Chapter 3: Dippin' Dot Dad**

Saturday, the start of my weekend with Dad. Sadly, it was _our _weekend with Dad, which meant Sora had to go with me. He made me peeved this morning by ripping up my drawing of him. We got into this big fight, and Mom once again took his side. I said something to the effect of, "I shall miss you very much, Mother," (yeah right) before taking off that day. Because, very timely, Dad pulled up in his Chevy to pick us up. He's one of those people who live within his means. He doesn't spend a crapload of money like Mom. He's actually the good parent of the family. Good parent vs. bad parent—just like Rock 'em, Sock 'em Robots! I'll pick the blue robot parent please. Blue's my favorite color anyway. Mom kept acting like the two of us were going to prison, because she stood there all concerned.

Sora nonchalantly got in the back seat of the Chevy car while I waved enthusiastically at Mom, since I really do like her that much. In fact, I was so happy, I sent her a little birdie before Dad drove away. It's not like I would get grounded for it later. Knowing her, she would forget by the time we got back.

"So, Namine, Sora, how's it been lately," Dad asked, all casual-like.

"Awesome, Dad," Sora said, playing with his iPod again. Now, he was playing games on it. They're very fascinating to him.

"Not bad." I shrugged, smiling. Yes, smiling; I can still do that. "Though Sora has been acting like a tool lately, it's still good."

He snorted my way after I pointed that out about him. He did that so many times a day, he might as well be a pig. I wish he would, so he wouldn't have to talk.

Dad peered over at my pain-in-the-butt brother. "Sora, do I have to tell you to be nice to your sister like you were five again?"

More iPod playing. "Nah, she called me a tool as in monkey wrench."

"Yeah, well, you're a monkey wrench up my butt, that's what you are."

Dad actually laughed a little at that. Mom wouldn't have. "Kids, kids, settle down. Once we get to Destiny, you can avoid each other all you want."

"Until then I'll draw," I replied lazily, pulling out my sketchbook.

So, while my brother and I rode in the car, Dad talked about high school with us. He related funny stories to me about his years in high school like the time he almost set the chemistry lab on fire. And there was another time when he cussed in Spanish with the Spanish teacher right there. Obviously, that had not been on purpose, just irony. That's the thing about my dad. I'm able to be close with him, because he's so funny. He sees the humor in every situation. I wish that I could live with him instead of Mom. That way, I'm back where I belong in the one place I had a probability of being accepted. I feel free in Destiny, awesome beaches and inspiration at every corner. I want to die there. OK, that was slightly extreme, but I do love it here. When Dad pulled up on our old white gravel driveway, I was really home...for a little while anyway.

Sora got our suitcases out and pushed mine so hard into me, I thought my ribs would break.

"Here, Nam, I thought you'd like your stuff. Maybe you can draw even more suckish drawings that aren't even half-good."

"Athletic ability is not talent, Sora!" I called over to him while he walked away. "Neither is chatting up chicks. I notice no girl wants you anyway."

"Suck it!" he shot back angrily, taking out a Nerf football from his suitcase. Dad stepped over to my side as I wondered why my brother was such a jerk.

He put a hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry about him, Namine. He'll be fine."

I doubted it.

Karaoke night at the old Tasaki residence happened later on, since Dad wanted us to have fun through song. I couldn't believe how random he could get. We all took turns, and Sora seemed to forget we ever argued that day. I personally had fun sliding in my tube socks while singing to "I Love Rock and Roll." Dad and Sora clapped for me while I overdramatically bowed Japanese-style.

"Rad voice, Namine!" Sora rooted for me, calling me by my full name. He rarely did that except at Dad's house for some reason. I guess that every time we go back to our childhood home and the beach, there's this magic that comes over us. For two days out of the week, we peacefully get along and know how to have fun again.

Then, we all gathered around Dad's ginormous TV to watch _Billy Madison_, which is such a stupid yet hilarious movie. Snacking on Oreos and Ruffles and cheese popcorn, we laughed at the unbelievable parts like when Billy pretended he peed his pants. Needless to say, we made a pretty epic mess of things. Mom would have grounded all three us, even Dad. He _was _her ex-husband after all, and they didn't part all that amicably. But, on this Saturday night, the past didn't come into play. We were kids again. And, like virtually insane kids, we stayed up into midnight. I slept in my old room that night, the room I repainted when I was ten. Pastel colors like sea green and lavender had been painted on long ago in some light colored rainbow. I even added white wispy clouds.

Settling into my old bed, I dreamed of the ocean. I was swimming in it again, letting the waves capture me and getting me soaked. I laughed carelessly, splashing Sora with the salty water. He spat it out when it got in his mouth and shook out his spiky hair. But, then, there was some guy hanging out with us, too. All I remembered out of him was strikingly blue-green eyes. Generally speaking, I don't have novel-worthy dreams every night. If anything, I've had dreams I was a rockstar, had a cat, and lived in some big mansion. But, something as symbolic as this...never. Who was that guy? The next morning, though, I didn't think about that random dream.

I watched Dad cook up pancakes for us, flips and all. By flips, I mean pancakes flying four feet in the air before sizzling on the pan. My dad is notorious for pretending he's on a cooking show. He loves to cook, even watches Food Network. Best part is his cooking blows Mom's out of the water. Yeah, I could live in this house every day. Blueberry flavor is the most classic as the one Dad uses the most. So, Sora and I enjoyed the most worthwhile breakfast ever. Then there came more great movies like _Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone _and _The Nightmare before Christmas_. Dad cooked lunch after that, certain French sandwiches called croques monsieur. I'm glad he loves to do anything with food, because it's that open-mindedness that introduces us to good recipes. Cheese and ham and just a bit of sour cream in these sandwiches—God, they were good!

Our destination was the beach soon enough, the lovely waves and the white sands and everything loveable about it. Since it was still summer, I got enough courage to wear shorts and an old faded rock T-shirt. I came prepared. I mean, I knew I would eventually be thrown into the water. Dad took us to the Dippin' Dots cart first, because he knew it was one of our favorite spots near the beach. I got chocolate, Sora got banana split, and Dad got sherbet flavored Dots. Oh, they're the best parts, those tiny ice cream balls in these little plastic bowls. Nothing beat it. We walked down to the beach to feed some seagulls and catch up on things among each other. But, Sora got bored of conversation after a while and wanted to perform a trick for us.

"Hey, Namine, Dad, check this out!" he shouted over the crashing waves and did a somersault into the water. A wave washed over him, getting salty water into his mouth. It never failed with my big brother. He always ended up tasting salt every time we went to the beach. And as usual, he made a big deal of spitting that water out. Dad and I just laughed at him, even though he did pull of his trick rather well. But, Sora wanted revenge. He rushed back out of the ocean, picked me up, and threw me in while I squealed like a little girl. Once again, I felt the water surround me, trying to push me under. Of course, I loved it but not that much. For some reason, we managed to convince Dad to come out with us.

Ah, it was so much fun. We were all soaked by the time we got back, but the sun managed to warm us up, so we didn't get cold. Though we were wet, we were happy nonetheless. It's moments like these that make me not want summer to end. It can last forever with no school, no problems, and no teen angst. As much as I hated to admit it, I would have to return to school the next morning. And Sora would be a jerk again, because his ego demanded it be that way. A delicious dinner later, and the two of us had to go back to Kingston with Dad driving. Midnight had struck on this magic. Except instead of midnight, it was 7:45 by the time we returned to the dungeon. Or should I say house? Either way, the spell was broken.

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**A/N: ****You guys ever had Dippin' Dots before? If not, you should. They're really good. XD And so are these French sandwiches that Namine's dad cooked up for the both her and Sora. They're basically like grilled cheese sandwiches. And those are good, too!**

**Great, now while my stomach is growling, could you guys maybe review? I don't see reviews as something to get (as in huge number, whooaaaa! XD) but more like something to spur me on, you know?**

**K, next chapter, Namine rides a smelly bus, encounters certain people, and has a random day of it all. **


	4. Crooked Teeth

**A/N: Hello, everyone. This chapter details only a part of Namine's first day, and there will be more to follow. In the mean time, please enjoy this chapter. By the way, yes, I titled chapter four with a song title on purpose. The lyrics, specifically the chorus, I felt could be applicable to this chapter. Besides, I like this song. This was back when this band was good.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the song or any pop culture stuff or brand names or any of that crap. There.**

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**Chapter 4: Crooked Teeth**

7:00 A.M., and Sora and I had to leave for school, our new school in a city setting. Sure, sure, the city wasn't gigantic, but I still hate the air pollution and the noise. First off, though, we ate some Cap 'N Crunch and waited for our bus. I had never ridden on a bus before this, but the key here was to look indifferent. Step on it like there was no one else riding. As much convincing as I could give myself, by the time that yellow ugly bus pulled up on our street, I wanted to throw up. It was already bad enough that I was a freshman, but riding on that thing?!? Kill me now. Please, please kill me now. Use the Harry Potter spell. Impale me with a sword. I don't care just as long as I can't attend high school for the first time ever.

To cure my nerves, I got out my own iPod, stuffing the earbuds into my ears until I thought the wax would get on them. A little Death Cab for Cutie would be just the thing. As I went out the door with Sora grumbling under his breath, I sang.

"_'It was one hundred degrees_...'"

Music is a calming force, I've found in recent years. It does help with any sort of suffering I go through, that's for sure. Still, I stepped on the bus with some apprehension anyway. But, most of these kids looked like jerks, so it would be easy to ignore them. Besides, Sora had to suffer along with me, and that was somewhat comforting. Then again, I wasn't grudging him anything today.

These lowly idiots smirked at us, staring at us like we were pathetic insects they would love to squish. That's high school for you, though. The fact of the matter is people would cheerfully treat each other like crap. At least Sora wasn't as much as an ignorant jock not to know this fact. He warned me of it beforehand last night. Maybe he's finally decided yesterday that after five years, he would get along with me. About time...I hope.

As these lame people gave us these stupid looks and even laughed disdainfully, I sang the current song in my head.

_"'You're so cute when you slur in your speech. They're closing the bar, and they want us to leave._'"

If these kids wanted to see an ashamed expression on my innocent face, they wouldn't see it from me. I was too busy listening to indie rock. The bus then drove off.

The high school here in Kingston looked like what I expected high school to be: prison. It didn't quite have the barbed wire fence around the building, but it was very brick, very dull. I would hate to be locked up here all day every day. Being an artist, it isn't hard for me to feel stifled, especially at a place like this. Once our weird cigarette smoking bus driver let us out, most of the lame kids ignored us as they all mindlessly got out. Well, I knew the new kid experience already, and it felt like I was dead. That was fine, just as long as no one annoyed me.

"_'No, you can't find nothing at all, if there was nothing there all along..._'"

Ugh, I hate to put the iPod away before I found myself trouble. That sucked. Sora and I entered the building, expecting some sort of prison-like atmosphere.

Nothing was impressive. Olive green lockers, white linoleum floor, and those bad flickering lights that only school budget could afford were basically what this place was. Crowds upon crowds of people swallowed the two of us whole, though we tried to stick together. Sora was found by some resident popular kids who instantly accepted him. It doesn't take much for those superficial brats. Right clothes and right hair make the person to them. I didn't want to be around those people. Meanwhile, a guy obviously on steroids pushed me toward a locker.

"Freshman!" he yelled obnoxiously before storming off. Brute. I would try to fund the cafeteria. Maybe there, I could be invisible and happy.

And then I saw him. He had blue-green eyes that instantly met mine. They were the color of the ocean on a clear sunny day. This guy was so attractive and appealing I thought there was no way he could be real. A cute yet perfectly handsome face was the only one I managed to see in the crowd at the moment. He wore a brown beanie, gray hoodie, and black skater shorts that showed off his legs. God, his legs were so sexy! I almost worried about developing a fetish for them. Most of all, he had silver hair that fell to his shoulders, and rays of sunlight from the windows practically made it glow. I loved his hair. And the instant our eyes met, I felt my heart beating nearly out of control. He smiled at me. Wow, so breathtaking...I could have died then. He was an angel come to life. If I had my sketchbook, I would have sketched his beautiful face. Could guys be beautiful?

I became all happy suddenly. These goosebumps I was getting were those of plain excitement. It was ironic. I mean, just two minutes ago, I was listening to this catchy yet depressing song about coming up empty-handed and getting high. But, now, I was in such an upbeat mood. I had to talk to this guy, say hi and pretend I'm not the new girl. Maybe I could pretend I was the mysterious girl he never noticed before until this moment. I could be alluring to him, charming even. I would be so hot to him. I was shy, though. I couldn't walk up to him and talk to him just like that. What the heck would he think of me then? And I had some pretty bad stuttering. Trembling legs. Feeling like I was gonna throw up on this crappy floor with scuff marks. He was practically out of my league.

He saw me looking at him. He blushed. Walked away. Oh God, he thought I was a creep! Nope, not that, he walked toward someone else. A girl, black hair and brown eyes. He hugged her. Girlfriend. Then, what the hell was he doing looking at me? Idiot. He randomly stares at me, but he has a girlfriend? What's his frickin' deal?

OK, no longer hot and cute, just repulsive. I just saw the guy I would stay away from. He had no loyalty for his girlfriend, clearly. Secretly, I flipped him off before stopping at my locker to roll the combination. 30-8-16, and it opened sesame. I hoped that I wasn't next to a jerk my age. Sora's company he kept was already bad enough. Then, _she _showed up with her little short pink skirt and matching Hollister T-shirt.

Run for the hills, Namine. Look aloof. Put the iPod earbuds back in and listen to Death Cab for a little longer. Just as long as she didn't realize I exist.

"Hi!" she chirped, waving like a five-year-old. Oh, no. Please, please, don't talk to me! But, you're going to anyway. I surrender...

"So, you new? I don't think I've seen you around. I'm Selphie!" she spoke a million words a second. I guessed she was harmless.

"Yeah, I am. Name's Namine," I said casually, shaking hands with her. She had those fake New Jersey nails that were like very sharp knives. My Aunt Marie loves fake nails. She thinks they're the best things ever invented since sliced bread.

Selphie opened her locker, put her tote bag on the floor, and started taking out pictures of male celebrities to decorate her locker with. Well, it'd be interesting to see if we had the same taste in guys. Just no _Twilight _crap. I got into the series briefly and fell out of love with it. It was the same way with _Mean Girls_, too. I'm strange.

"Mmmm, Daniel Radcliffe, yum!" she said, licking her lips.

Well, he was a cutie. "Agreed, and Johnny Depp's awesome, too."

"Yes! Ooooh, we have the same taste in men."

I guessed we did. I smiled. "Mmm-hmmm."

I wasn't used to talking about celeb guys back home, but OK, sounded like a good change.

As long as it got me friends, I could live through that, I supposed. I was surprised she didn't make fun of my clothes or anything. Friend Number One here in this place!

"These lockers are ugly," I commented, staring at that ugly shade. I would never use it in my drawings, that's for sure. In fact, I don't really like green in general, only certain shades.

Selphie nodded. "Oh yeah, I know. But see, it's one of the school colors. Red is the other one."

Oh, ho-ho-ho, merry Christmas in Kingston. Who came up with that bright idea?

Not only did this school look cheap, its colors were cheap, too. I was in Cheapskateville, population 1,200. Chief exports include ugly colors and active athletics program, apparently. This community has a relatively aggressive population. Past times are pushing, shoving, and yelling. What would I know, though?

It was the first day. Naturally, it was going to be vicious. Dad warned me about this. Just as I was going to tell Selphie these clever remarks, the bell rang. Figures.

"Oh, and our mascot is a kangaroo!" she told me over the noise.

I was mouthing something like, "what the fudge?" in disbelief. You have got to be joking. The Kingston Kangaroos?!? Now, I really was living the quirky life. And, even though I swore I wouldn't think of him, that cute skater boy crossed my mind. No need to think about him anyway. I couldn't.

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**A/N: ****Before you guys might possibly throw tomatoes at me, I will apologize to you all for making Riku somewhat OOC. Sigh, the truth is, I made him based off a real person in my life...yeah...maybe not quite in my life, but...well, it's personal stuff. Besides, I never cared for the Roxine pairing all too well. Wait, that isn't true. I USED to like that pairing, but they were a bit too canonized for my liking. So, yeah. I hope nobody has problems with that. XD**


	5. Lessons Learned

**A/N: OK, guys, this is where the story FINALLY gets good. Or, hopefully, according to all of you, it will be. This is Namine's random day. This should get good. XD**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any random things or KH. They're all copyrighted and stuff.**

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**Chapter 5: Lessons Learned**

I've learned some pretty interesting lessons so far at Kingston High. We ended up having to go to the auditorium to hear the principal ramble.

And cue lesson one: the seats are for sitting, not for standing or acting like a general idiot. It's one of the most important lesions ever. Just ask the faculty. They kept having to shove some rowdy freshman boys into their seats. Gosh, they're supposed to be in high school. So-called men.

Lesson two: the principal plays God.

And why does he act so self-important? I'm guessing it's because he wants to copy the principal off _The Breakfast Club_. John Hughes had no idea how right he was.

Except this guy is F-A-T, fat. He's about the size of twenty Cartmans, maybe twenty Cartmans plus two Chefs. Twenty Cartmans + two Chefs=one fat principal. See, I learned my first algebra equation already...even though this problem didn't involve _x_'s or _y_'s or _z'_s. OK. Anyway, a girl with braided pigtails sat next to me. She sat in a rather uptight position, like her back was stiff. She also looked at me like she thought I would mind her. Honors student, sadly on one of the lower levels of the high school food chain. But, she didn't look like a bad person.

"Hi, I'm Namine. Who—?"

"Shhhh!" a teacher hushed me randomly, her spit getting on my new hoodie.

I rolled my eyes at her. Then again, everybody else was getting quiet, because these weird teachers were shutting them up. We woke up in a democracy and went to school in a communist state. What was next?

Lesson three: the principal shall smite if there dare be talking.

Fatty yelled, "Shut up!" at least six times (well, he said, "Settle down!" but same thing) before speaking. Rules, blah-blah-blah. What is to be expected out of us, blah-blah-blah. Meet the shrinks, blah-blah-blah. Detention records from last year from the other classes, no off-campus lunch until semester one is over, and this place is prison, blah-blah-blah-blahby-blah! Welcome to the jungle.

This principal even told us the rules and detention stats through a PowerPoint. Please. Of course the underclassmen are gonna act up. It's called angst. Get over it. Well, after the virtually dead silence of the assembly (except for some kid yelling, "Principal Harrison sucks!"), I went to English class, where I learned another lesson.

Lesson four: Hell hath no fury for a spitting teacher and her hatred of gum.

Yep, Spit Lady is my English teacher. Oh, the irony. She practically leapt upon a poor innocent guy who chewed Stride gum. It's the "it" gum for high schoolers. Three out of four chew them. It tastes good, but it's the gum equivalent of Abercrombie. Yeah, for gum, it's fairly pricy. Spit Lady caused some drama over it.

"You are in high school, young man! Don't you know better than to chew gum by now?!?"

Poor dude got spat on, and he wiped beads of germs off his face. She was an irritable lady, middle-aged and stick thin. Not to mention she wasn't all that nice either. And, to show us that we would be treated to random openings of windows all year, she opened them and kept the room at 68°. Worst hot flashes I've ever witnessed from a teacher. I don't ever want to be that old, but I know I will. I just hope I won't hate kids as much as Spit Lady. Her real name is Mrs. Johnson, I think. Actually, I don't remember. She had rules too, though I turned her off like I would the TV if _The Real World _was on. Second hour algebra couldn't come soon enough.

Lesson five: already being known as Sora Tasaki's little sister in a _brand-new location _royally sucks. This kid who sat behind me tapped my shoulder with his pencil. I think it was Wakka something. I recognized him as being the kid with carrot hair.

"Hey, I'm—"

"Sora Tasaki's little sis, all right! Name's Wakka. I know you guys are new, but I already talked to Sora. He's a cool bro, dudette, ya."

Oh Lord. I thought that maybe, possibly, and perhaps I could make a name for myself in Kingston. Even though I wanted to be different in an oddball way, I wanted no "Sora Tasaki's little sister" crap.

Goes to show that I have a lot to accomplish this year.

Then, it was on to glorious, fun science. Note the sarcasm. I always hated science, because I epically failed at doing labs. Still, I would have to find out the hard way that...

Lesson six: there are Beatles haters in the world.

I learned this unfortunate lesson when somebody's phone went off in the middle of Mr. Vexen's going over the syllabus (it's not those bead thingies you play with in kindergarten—that's an abacus). It had the ringtone of "All You Need is Love."

That idiot who pushed me earlier (a fashionable guy in a stupid trench coat or whatever he was supposed to be wearing) shouted, "That kid doesn't know music, Mr. Vexen!"

Everyone looked at him like he had no brains. He didn't; he got held back due to last year.

Obviously, since that kid Seifer was a bit bigger than us weaker freshmen. But, hey, at least that Mr. Vexen agreed with the majority. He liked the Beatles too and took great offense to what Seifer said. That blondie got sent to the office. We all laughed victoriously. Good times, good times.

Lesson seven: Mr. Xemnas' name should not be rearranged into an inappropriate one.

This was in study hall, the most boring class of the day. At least I'd be able to catch up on dull homework. Anyway, one Axel Iwasaki decided to be extremely bold.

"Sir, did you know that the letters in your name spell Mansex?" he asked.

Everyone used their dirty minds and burst out laughing. Mr. Xemnas was highly displeased, making sure to do all his shushing. We were shushed.

"I am aware of that, Mr. Iwasaki," he replied stiffly like the stiffest of the stiffs. "But, I'm not intent on engaging in activity with you. I've heard that name addressed to me before by the way. Mr. Xigbar has the same problem."

Everyone "ooooohed," and Axel got several joking arm punches. He winked at me and gave the thumbs-up.

"Newbie ought to like that, don't you?" He grinned.

I nodded. "Just be less subtle next time."

He chuckled. "I like you already, newb."

Bell for lunch rang, which seriously got us out of our boredom. Axel and I became friends already, since he was a rad guy. Was into metal, Tim Burton movies, and motorcycles. Awesome guy. So, to the cramped cafeteria I went.

Lesson eight: cheese is food, not a weapon, especially not squirt cheese.

Some kids from Seifer's group were testing cheese graffiti on the walls. They thought that kind of experimentation was cool. Brutes always travel in packs—lesson number nine. Principal Fatty swooped on them and confiscated the squirty cheese.

"_'Keep spending most our lives living in an Amish paradise'_," I sang under my breath. It's Weird Al, totally classic. Someone has got to come out with the parody songs.

Lunch was over before I knew it after I talked to Selphie, sat and ate with her. She really isn't bad for a peppy girl. I'm surprised she doesn't associate herself with popular kids. Then again, she is a freshman like me, so innocent...Who knows if anyone might corrupt her? If it doesn't happen in middle school, it happens here in high school. That's just the facts.

Lesson ten: pencils are not to be used as light sabers.

Mr. Xigbar (aka Mr. Bigrax) had to break up a nerd fight in French class. It was amusing. I actually got to talk with those people, Pence and Demyx.

In art, lesson number eleven: don't look good-looking guys in the eye. As for P.E., lesson number twelve: dodgeball is not fun for anyone, especially for weaklings. Me for example or poor Pence, who almost got beaned in the head. I'm not sure if this is a class or maybe we're trying to remake _Saving Private Ryan_. And I'm not into war movies. By the way, I prefer not to reference lesson eleven. It's one I reluctantly learned and don't wanna talk about in the mean time. Maybe I'll wait a week. Oh, yes, P.E. is lesson thirteen too: avoid jocks at all times. They are the lions in the animal kingdom, on the hunt. Now, that's threatening.

Thirteen lessons for seven classes and a lunch. That equals a lot for one day. Three o'clock bell never rings soon enough—lesson fourteen, actually.

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**A/N: ****Back in middle school, I had a teacher who had really bad hot flashes. Just sayin'. XD So, yes, this random teacher lady I made up is based on her. XP I know I didn't use a KH character to be the principal, I know. I was just trying to be different. And yes, I do know of a Beatles hater in my school. I don't know what's wrong with him, but he just has some resentment against that band. Surprisingly, he is not a douche. **

**And, as for the Weird Al song...well, I liked it too much to not NOT use it. XD. Heh-heh-heh, double negative. It was used to describe how simple Namine thought Seifer and his gang of buddies were.**


	6. Well of Creativity

**A/N: This chapter's a bit on the long side. It's basically Namine's art class. And other stuff. Read more to find out! Oh, and sorry about any language in this story. It's real life. Fresh. New. Filled with cuss words. XP I mean, life, not this story. My potty mouth isn't THAT bad.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

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**Chapter 6: Well of Creativity**

Art class, second best to the ocean. Instead of being deep under the waves, I get to invoke my feelings through art. This week had been basically sketching things like highlights from summer vacation or our friends. Selphie's my friend, I guess, though I haven't really gotten to know anybody else yet. I've been the quiet type for so long, I'm not sure how to be social again. That guy is in my sixth hour class. Unfortunately, so is his girlfriend. Even more unfortunately, I've been assigned to sit next to him. I personally think this should be against the law, forcing children to sit next to people they'd rather avoid. I guess he's not evil, I just don't understand him. Why look at me when he has that girl with all those piercings? Lip ring, nose stud, eyebrow stud, three earrings in each ear—she has an obsession with silver, studded things.

She's also one of those jingly bracelet addicts, too. While talking to her boyfriend, I hear jingle, jingle. Holding her pencil, jingle, jingle, and they go down her elbows. There's the many different colors she has on her wrists to her elbows—black, red, blue, and green. She has talked to me a couple of times, all friendly and easygoing. Thank God she's not the jealous type. If anything, she seems rather nice to everyone, about as chatty as Selphie.

"So, Namine, how into art are you?" she asked me today. "I mean, do you keep sketchbooks? Or maybe you experiment with hair dye like I do."

She grinned while saying that. Well, that much was true. She had purple streaks in her hair.

I smiled at her, enjoying our conversation. She was pretty rad so far, despite the fact that she went out with, well, _him_. For the record, though, I only liked him for five seconds.

"I collect sketchbooks like people collect manga," I said proudly. I have artist street cred in here. The teacher used me as an example once already. It's an awkward but rewarding feeling. I'm special that way.

Yuffie Kisaragi jingled her bracelets yet again. "I'm more of a painter myself."

The guy, whose name I found out was Riku Aoki, looked over at us since he was right there. He saw through me, though I swore he was blushing very slightly.

"Comic book style for me," he murmured. "But, you already know that, Yuffie."

He knew my name by now but wouldn't talk to me. It pissed me off for some reason.

I still haven't figured out what his deal is, and it's definitely been bothering me. I've spent sleepless nights over it. Last night, I couldn't get to sleep until two in the morning. I hoped he knew that I went to the trouble of losing sleep for him. I mean this sarcastically, of course. As if I would waste thoughts on him. Other than Riku randomly bothering me, art is great. I drew a medieval castle today, moat and all. Yuffie seemed to appreciate the whole Middle Ages thing about it.

"Wow, that's so cool! I always wanted to see one of those."

"There aren't many left, you know," Roxas Shiro spoke behind us. "They're all crumbling like...like...Graham crackers, I guess."

Yuffie and I laughed at him. He's a pretty strange kid, but he's endearing. Apparently, people have been speculating about his sexuality lately. Then again, everyone does that to everyone else around here. Seifer accused me of being a lesbian on the second day. I don't roll that way but OK. He randomly insists on giving me a really hard time anyway.

I smiled at Roxas. "That's true, but that's the appeal. There's so few left standing now, it makes me wonder what they used to look like."

"Well, nothing compares to this picture I've got," he bragged before showing off his sketch.

It was a sort of Andy Warhol-like drawing of high school cafeteria food, with green, blue, and gray bits of mold. I wrinkled my nose while Yuffie and Riku laughed together. Ugh, it was the couple laugh. The "let's enjoy this quirky thing together" laugh. The "after this period ends, let's make out" laugh. For some reason, I had a strong desire to yell at Riku, even though he was a nice guy. What the heck was wrong with me? Whatever.

Yuffie grinned cheekily. "I know school food's bad, but it's not _that _bad!"

"Just ask Axel, though," Roxas quietly insisted. "He found mold on his taco once."

"That doesn't break health code at all," Riku said sarcastically, earning a hug from Yuffie that stretched past me. I squirmed in my seat. I hate high school PDA.

She noticed. "Oh, sorry Nam, didn't mean to make you feel awkward."

Shrugging my shoulders with fake nonchalance, I silently said it was no big deal. I can be a good liar when I want (need) to be. Roxas shook his head.

"Ain't love grand?" he asked, adding more splotchy mold to a banana. "It makes you want to watch _The Notebook _four times a day."

Well, I did cry when I watched that movie. It was beautiful!

"Or _Bridget Jones' Diary_," I joked, remembering how insanely funny that movie was.

"Hm, well, the Playboy bunny idea would be great, wouldn't it?" Yuffie asked wittily, referencing the first movie. I knew she probably had Riku in mind, and he squirmed a little in his chair then. And I thought I was the only chair squirmer in the room.

Miss Gainsborough, our art teacher, suddenly had us stop our work just a minute for an IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!!! Usually, if memory served in middle school art class, it was art teacher lingo for project. As in, if the teacher loved your work enough, she or he might send it to a fair or show. It was huge for students like us, especially me. No art teacher took enough notice of me to send my stuff anywhere. Maybe this was my chance. But, no such luck this time...at least, I figured.

"Everyone, we're starting our first project in two weeks. We are going to be making collages. So, start printing out pictures that you like. Only catch is that it has to follow a theme."

Basically, if we wanted to print out cats, print out only different cats. That was just an example, but I wondered what I should make. What would my theme be? I looked over at Riku. Hm...How about irrepressible male characters like Mr. Darcy or Rochester or Ron Weasley? Nah, I threw out that idea. Not too feminist exactly, but...I didn't know. I just thought it was a bad idea. Hmm...

Got it. _Death Note _characters. They could fill an entire room, not to mention it was my favorite anime ever. But, did Riku even...?

Screw what he thought! He was irrepressible, remember? Meaning he would constantly make out with Yuffie and ignore me all he liked. He must have thought he was better than me or something. I pouted at the thought. Luckily, the bell rang, saving my good humor.

Well, it _almost _saved my good humor. As I was getting out of the room on my way to my locker, I heard someone say, "Hey, Namine, wait up."

I stopped. I knew that voice, damn it. What could he possibly want to talk to me over?

Irritably, I tucked my annoyingly wispy blond hair behind my ear. "Finally cared to realize I exist? Good job. That must be a real—"

"Look, I was gonna ask you what you were doing for your project," Riku told me, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his hoodie, face reddening with agitation looked like.

I still rolled my eyes, personal favorite habit. "Last time I checked, Riku, this wasn't a partner thing. Why don't you ask Yuffie?"

God, he looked worried all of a sudden. Like I told him to jump off a cliff or smoke pot or go marry some chick in Vegas. Maybe I stepped over the line a bit. I cleared my throat to start over.

"Sorry, girl stuff," I apologized. "Um...I was thinking _Death Note _characters."

"Rock band logos for me," he murmured with such a lopsided shrug I thought he imitated Quasimodo for five seconds. I sighed but found myself smiling. In my mind, I slapped myself.

"Oh, really, which bands?"

"Um...like Green Day, Linkin Park, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd..."

Wow, we had similar music tastes! But, why was I being soft with him?

I shook it off by pretending to be mad at him again. I mean, he had had the nerve to stare at me on that first day when he had Yuffie to occupy his time with.

"Whatever, lame idea, you're making me late for class!" I snapped at him, pushing him out of the way to finally get to my locker. I must have made the poor guy feel bad, but he was stupid enough to look at me like that. And why blush? I was a freshman and he a sophomore. He was my brother's age!!! What was he doing looking at a girl like me? So, generally speaking, I had mixed-up feelings over Riku, since he was nice. But, he made me so mad. I didn't care if I was new to him on that first day. I was actually someone who took other people's feelings into consideration like Yuffie's.

Still upset, I made my way to the locker room to get ready for good old-fashioned P.E. pummeling.

I avoided getting hit by a stupid volleyball that the person throwing it wanted to pelt me with. My P.E. class is the most vicious. I blame it on the jocks. I even told Sora that when we rode home on the bus, but surprisingly, he didn't mind. However, when I surfed the Net on our computer when I got home to look for pictures, he talked about his popular guy life.

"I mean, it's not that bad," he told me while I Googled pictures of L. "I'm actually surprised I got accepted right away. And I intend on trying out for the football team next week. Maybe you can try out as a cheerleader to cheer for me?"

He winked at me, knowing full well how much I don't like cheerleaders. They were basically the so-called friends who ditched me by the time fifth grade came around. No thanks.

I rolled my eyes as I printed out the perfect picture of the panda look-a-like of an anime character. Aw, he was so adorable! I could eat him up like cherries. Then again, this is what happens when you have a lifelong anime obsession. It makes you go nuts.

"Cheerleading is not a sport, Sora. Don't kid yourself," I shot back in our usual banter. I swear that hanging out with Dad put him in a better mood. Well, that, and he was back with his people again. I still didn't know why he was so grumpy up until the first day. Maybe it was because we were uprooted right before school. That still ticks me off. At least I have my constant well of creativity (which magically refilled itself over this week) to help me through the bad times.

My artistry has saved me time and again. Back when I had depression, I kept thinking about suicide, pondering over the possibilities. At one point, I even considered tying heavy rocks to my shoes and drown myself in the ocean. It was the place I loved most, and I thought why not die there? Instead of suicide, though, I sketched the ocean, my first serious landscape picture. The sun set in this piece with those pretty twilight colors in the sky. I made the ocean reflect the sky, which almost caught my then art teacher's eye. Almost. And then she recalled about my lack of status in school. So, with that in mind, she ended up throwing it away.

Yeah, there were a lot of charming people in middle school, including the faculty. No matter where you live, there will always be jerks to bring you down. I printed out more _Death Note _pictures until the printer ran out of ink. Uh-oh.

"Wake up!" I ordered the printer, hitting it lightly to make it work. But, that damn thing refused to work. And then it told me it ran out of juice. I cursed up a storm, and Sora watched me with concern. Poor guy probably thought I had gone insane at last.

"So, why'd you print out so many pics to begin with?" he asked awkwardly in a tone that basically said, "Please don't take your insanity out on me."

I sighed heavily, resting my head against good ole crappy printer. "It's for an art project in two weeks. I at least should prepare for it."

"Wow." He shook his head. "You're sure an overachiever in art, aren't you?"

"Try to be, yeah. It might be my job one day."

We blankly stared at each other in silence, knowing that we would probably have to end up buying more ink on again. Mom was not going to be too happy about this. She had serious resentment against me, or so I thought. Always an excuse to bring me down—she never really stopped.

"So..._Death Note_, huh?"

"You've actually heard of it, Sora? No way."

"Yeah way. I heard a couple kids talk about it the other day, older than us actually."

I grinned. "Wow, awesome, did you know their names?"

He actually knew one of the kid's names, since he was in a class with him, a history class. The guy's name was Marluxia Keefer, who dated this one chick apparently. They were both seniors. Hm, if I played my cards right, I could have an anime liking friend in Kingston. That was a rad thought. Just as I was basking in this victory for my geeky self, I heard the Kia drive in. I swore.

Sora looked at me sympathetically. "She's not gonna be chipper, you know."

"Yeah, I know," I grumbled, giving our silver Kia the death glare.

Holding some packages of food from the Asian place downtown, Mom got out of the car and headed our way. Printer, are you alive? Do you still have any ink left? Even a drop?

As if it wanted to torture me, the piece of crap flashed "no ink" on its screen again.

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**A/N: ****Bit of drama in the next chapter, I'm afraid. But, anyway, in case you guys didn't know, I mean Rochester as in the guy off Jane Eyre. And, also, irrepressible means stubborn, basically. I'm pretty sure that's it. **

**Well, not much else to say, other than to tell people to review. So, I'll do that. Wait, I just did. Never mind. XD**


	7. I Can't Get No Satisfaction

**A/N: In which crazy drama ensues, and we finally get to see Axel back again. But, that would be giving away too much.**

**Disclaimer: I own noteth a thingeth.**

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**Chapter 7: I Can't Get no Satisfaction**

Normally, I would appreciate Mom bringing home some chow mein, egg rolls, and other Chinese food stuff for us. I really would. But, obviously, tonight was a bad time for it. She walked in, asked how Sora's day went first _and then _mine, and set the food on the table. Whereas Dad cooked the meals, she preferred to let someone else do it through the power of fast food corporations. Thank God McDonald's and Burger King and Dairy Queen were invented, huh? And then, of course, Chinese food places—they were good, yeah. Still, it would be nice if she cooked more often, even if it was inedible crap. She seemed pleasant enough, surprisingly, which was a big shame for me. She never liked being amicable, always in a bad mood with her job.

So when she noticed the printer was out of ink, she virtually exploded.

"Namine Ayame Tasaki, would you mind explaining how _this _happened?!?" she shouted in her screechiest Momzilla voice. I wondered if she planned on taking Mothra any time soon. Oh, notice that she went ahead and put the blame on me, too. Sora's her precious, angelic baby who she cradles all the time without ever accusing him of anything.

I shrugged, pretending that a purple faced Mom was perfectly normal. "It's a project for school in a couple weeks. Our art teacher—"

"Oh, so it's an art project?!?" she snapped, clearly on the rag. "You should know that damn class is a waste of time. And, more importantly, it's a waste of money!!"

That got under my skin. Badly. She could have simply bashed my overusage of the printer. But, she went ahead and trashed my art and art in general. To say that to me was the highest form of disrespect. It's pretty funny how she could spend money willy-nilly and then scold us kids for buying candy in the school vending machines. They're only a dollar.

"Look, Mom, calm the hell down," I told her quietly yet angrily. "I want to be an artist one day. That's my dream. And if you can't respect that just because 'it's a waste of money', then too bad. I'm not the one who spends money on fast food all the time. Speaking of which, I'm not hungry. In fact, enjoy Chinese food with Sora. I'll be out."

I heard my beloved mother yell at me the whole time, but I slipped out the front door before she could even ground me. There was no way I would let her anyway. Looked like poor Sora would go at it alone.

In the mean time, I sprinted over to the garage to get my bike, because I thought I needed a good long ride. I've had it for about four years, and it has been my sole personal transportation. The breeze running through my hair as I pedaled out of the garage was nothing I had ever experienced before. I could smell the scent of freedom, taste it on my tongue. Actually, it was just the scent of flowers in the very late August weather. It would be September in a couple of days. I didn't quite know where I would go, away from her I knew that. I stopped the bike to get my iPod playing, and I listened to the perfect song that expressed overall displeasure at everyone and everything.

"Satisfaction" by the Rolling Stones—what could be more "my life sucks" than that?

I simply jammed to it while still keeping my focus on what lay ahead of me on these sidewalks.

I had only gone down two blocks, when I heard Selphie call, "Namine! Hey, Namine, it's me Selphie! Take the earbuds out, I wanna talk to you!"

Well, her voice was certainly distracting. I had almost been too busy being an angst-ridden teenager to notice. But, for her sake, I stopped the bike again. Sure enough, Selphie was sitting on her front porch, holding a can of Mountain Dew in her hand. I didn't even know they had front porches any more. Anyway, I parked the bike against a lone tree that stood in the Tilmett front yard. Another fact I hate about suburbia: lack of trees. "I can't get no satisfaction" indeed. Awkwardly, I shuffled over to her fairly big house and cautiously sat on a chair on the porch.

I hoped I wasn't being too intrusive. Selphie didn't seem to mind, though, so I accepted this forward-ness. She grinned while I shyly smiled back. Hopefully, she wouldn't get too personal with the questions she would fire at me. Jeez, the first school week hadn't ended yet.

"So, why'd you come here?" she asked innocently, green eyes uncomfortably boring into my soul.

Gak, that's too personal already! Still, so far, she was my only hope when it came to friendship.

I gulped. "Well, I kinda...sorta... had a fight with my mom."

"About what?"

"This isn't _Dateline_, Selphie!" I suddenly snapped, just flat-out angry with the world in general at the moment. Anger at Mom, anger at Sora for not really having my back, anger at prying, so-called friends, anger at Riku for...for...

Miraculously, she had no disgusted or miffed look on her face. If anything, she went the sympathetic route, which was even more awkward for me. I think I would have preferred her screaming at me and splashing her bound-to-get-you-a-sugar-high Mountain Dew on my face.

She patted one of my idle hands. "It's OK, Namine. We can be friends, right?"

"Friends as in high school pals or friends as in therapist to patient?"

Serious for once, Selphie sighed heavily at my cynicism. "You know what I mean."

I started to twirl my blond hair, one of many nervous habits I have, especially if I'm about to be interrogated. Yep, she had me cornered like a rat, because I usually don't spill to just anybody. Maybe it was partial thanks to the shrink I had to talk to when my parents divorced.

Frowning, I began, "It's about me and my mom, obviously. We don't get along so good any more, especially tonight. See, I used all the printer ink for my upcoming art project. Mom, always the miser, came home at the wrong time. She got pissed about the printer, and she just went off on a rant about how my art is a waste of time. That got me going, 'cause art is what I want to do for a living. So, I left."

In all honesty, I expected Selphie to lecture me on how I shouldn't have run off for a stupid reason like mine. And I should return to Mom. And I should suddenly pretend she's Carol Brady, and everything's chipper, though I'm the Jan of the family.

As everyone knew through that crap show, Jan was always the forgotten one, the one who secretly wished Marcia would get thrown under a bus. That would definitely result in more than just a broken nose. Ironically enough, the only reason I eve knew the existence of that show was because it was Mom's favorite growing up. Obviously, she's no Carol Brady. But, I'm definitely a Jan. Sora could be Greg, I guess, since he was Mr. Perfect. People noticed him.

Selphie's hand was suddenly waving in front of my face. "Hellloooo, anybody in there?"

I was out of my trance then. "Yeah, 'course. Just trying to imagine my mom with a Carol Brady hairstyle."

"Really? Your mom doesn't sound the type to me." She snickered.

So, she was actually going to take my side on this one? Nice. That was the dead giveaway of a real friend right there...even insulting one's overbearing mother.

While leaning back in her porch chair, Selphie slurped more of her Mountain Dew before telling me, "Here's how I see it, Namine. If your mom just isn't supportive of your dream job, then she needs to wake up. But, I wouldn't really run away if I were you. Ignore her. I gotta say, though, she must be tough on you two. A bit of a hypocrite, I'd say. Does she seriously splurge?"

I nodded. "I think she's been spending so much lately to prepare for getting back in the dating world."

"Good luck for her finding a date."

Grinning (I couldn't help myself), I laughed a little. "Yeah, I know."

"Wanna stay for dinner? Have you eaten yet?"

I said no, I hadn't eaten, and yes, I would love to try her family's cooking.

Soon, I was introduced to Mrs. Tilmett, a tall lady with long curly auburn hair. Like her daughter, she could talk a mile a minute but was as friendly as could be. She told me that Selphie talked about me the new girl and how we were becoming fast friends. I guess we were. The chatty girl hadn't done anything to betray my trust yet, since she seemed to value it so much. Mrs. Tilmett mentioned that her husband wouldn't be back from the office until eight, so she decided to cook us up something to eat. What tasted delicious was the main course: tacos, which were very quick to make. And they were out-of-this-world good! Mmm, she even managed to put in some spices like paprika and, of course, salt that made them so yummy.

I wished Mom could be like Mrs. Tilmett, good cook and nice lady, never one to easily judge. Sometimes, I wonder if I was just dropped on Earth by a spaceship from all the way on Neptune. Maybe my mom and dad were crazy enough to adopt me. It would explain why I was so often at odds with Mom, that's for sure. Once dinner ended, I said goodbye to both of the Tilmetts along with saying politely how much I enjoyed the food. Then, it was back on my bike. I kind of felt bad for telling Mrs. Tilmett I would go home right away. Come on, though, it's not like she's the one living with my irritable divorcee mom and sometimes annoying brother. But, if you have siblings, getting annoyed is a given. It's the fact that my mom goes around being the dictator all the time that's ridiculous. So, it was only necessary I would stay away from her for a few more hours. It was more like survival.

More Rolling Stones music came from my iPod while I pedaled away. Technically, I wasn't an expert on the city yet, but I was going to try my darnedest. No, it wasn't the biggest city in the world, population only about 18,000 to 20,000...somewhere around there. Still, I wasn't quite sure where to go until I accidentally discovered Kingston Park.

I turned off my nifty blue iPod, amazed at how beautiful this place was for being so smack-dab-in-the-Oreo-cookie-middle of a cheap looking city. Though I guess it's nice enough for me to be stuck in the suburbs like Edward Scissorhands or something. I liked the fountain right there in the park, filled at the bottom with pennies, nickels, dimes, and even quarters. But mostly pennies, since they are the preferred choice for wishing well coins.

For some random reason, I smiled at the whole whimsical concept of it, tossing pennies into fountains like that. When I was younger, I used to be superstitious, I admit it. I used to think if you wished on a coin and plopped it into any body of water, much less the tiny pond fountains make, that wish would come true. So, I would walk all the way to the beach four times a year just to throw coins into the ocean after making wishes. They probably sank to the bottom and gathered that greenish rust pennies get if wet. Sadly, I stopped doing that tradition when I was eleven. I thought if your parents divorced, it was the end of the road. What type of wishes could fix that?

My smile went away as quickly as it had come. Did I really get so bitter so early? God, I needed a life, one with no cynicism or pessimistic doubts about everything. Life sucks, but it surely doesn't such that bad. It was what you made it, right? My dad says that all the time, so that phrase must mean something.

Luckily, I had change in my pocket, 26¢ to be exact. I took out that one penny, made a wish, and threw it into the fountain. For some reason, that felt great, it really did. My wish was along the lines of "I hope I learn to be happy in this city." I was doing a "meh" job so far, so I needed that extra push. Superstition strikes again! Oh well, if superstition could help me out in this case, then I was pretty much set. Feeling a bit worn-out at the moment, I picked out a bench and sat down.

There was really not that much to do since the sun was starting to set behind the apartment buildings and some skyscrapers and random stores here and there. So, naturally, I listened to my iPod, which no longer played the Stones but some bluesy Norah Jones. That's my music all right. I hummed along to it until I heard someone yell, "Hey, newb!"

Surprised, I took out my earbuds, and there was Axel Iwasaki, resident study hall brat and overall cool guy...for a junior. I waved to him and motioned him over to sit next to me.

"So, how's it going?" he greeted, brushing back his read Sonic the Hedgehog spikes, only Sonic wasn't red. However, I think Shadow was the one with bright red streaks. I don't know. Playing old-school Sonic had been so long ago, back when we had a Nintendo 64. To be a 90's kid again...

I gave him a signature blue-eyed wink. "Pretty good, Axe...though, actually, I had a fight with my mom a couple hours ago. She didn't want me using up printer ink for my art project, apparently."

Axel clicked his tongue. "Parents, demanding as hell, aren't they? I know the feeling, Nam. Oh, so you're in art? Rox's class, isn't it? He told me that you were in his class the other day."

"What'd he say?"

He flashed me a bad boy grin. "You're too quiet, _mi compadre_. That's what he said. He's also noticed that you look at that Aoki kid."

There was nothing to do but to shake my head at that ridiculousness. I only looked at him once or twice—that didn't mean anything. Why would Roxas bother to point that out?

"I don't look at Riku. He has a girlfriend, and it breaks girl code to—"

He waved my oncoming rant aside. "You chicks and your BS girl code! I know he's going with Yuff, sure. She's in my grade. Truth is, newb, he treats her more like a best friend. She asked him out, according to her. And Yuffie is an honest dudette. Riku couldn't say no, though, since he's just a nice good ole boy. Fact of the matter is, he feels weird about dating her. Roxas and I got this little bet going. Someone gets to pay for dinner if Riku breaks up with her soon."

"That's nice," I told him sarcastically. "Why make a bet?"

He shrugged. "Something to do. Besides, you and Riku would make a cuter couple. Just sayin'."

Could Axel be serious? If that was the case, I intended on killing his drug dealer.

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**A/N: ****I loved that last line especially. Bit on the random side, true, but hey, Axel might have a drug dealer. Spoiler alert: he does not. But, yeah...I went to a friend's party last night and now am as loopy as a roller coaster on crack. That, and I'm on MySpace looking for...um...people. Yeah, let's go with that.**

**By the way, for those of you who want to communicate with me via MySpace and/or Facebook, you're out of luck. My mom does not want me to have a social life. So, hahaha! I might beg for a Facebook, but let's see how that goes over. At least my mom is not like Namine's mom.**

**So, take pity on the emo nerd with no social Internet life apart from this (only sometimes, though) and review. This will make up for the lack of human contact I have on the weekends.**


	8. Egg Rolls, Pretty Eyes, and Chicks with

**A/N: I found out something yesterday that made me feel really shitty. That's the only word I can use to express it, sorry. I just...I just uploaded this to try to get back to what I love most. And it's not a guy or anything. It's writing, my favorite hobby. And it ALWAYS comes first...well, 'cept for school, I suppose. I suppose. I hate school.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

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**Chapter 8: Egg Rolls, Pretty Eyes, and Chicks with Piercings**

I was getting over the shock of what Axel confidentially told me. Could he be serious about Riku and me? Well, he was attractive...pretty eyes, great long silver hair, sexy legs...No! I could not think of him like that. Yuffie was too nice to deserve any crap from me. Besides, she might pull out a switchblade and stab me in the middle of the night. Think Michael Jackson's "Beat It" video, only with actual violence. Then again, could Yuffie stab people? Probably not. Would she be hurt once she found out Riku was just being a gentlemanly boyfriend to her and nothing more? Heck to the yeah. I appreciated his respect of other people's feelings, though.

Then again, not showing his real thoughts to Yuffie wasn't right, was it? Of course not!

So, once it came down to it, my opinion of Riku remained unchanged. A know-it-all shrink would have told me that because of that stupid divorce, I have an inability to see the good in people, only the bad. I would have told her where to stick her clipboard. In fact, I actually told a therapist this once. For my punishment, I got six more sessions added on, since I was "clearly an angry child with bitter feelings toward the divorce." That's what she wrote on that clipboard. Once the sessions were up, I never looked back. That's been my way.

Axel did what Selphie had done, but he punched me in the arm instead. "Wake up, Tasaki!"

I blinked several times. "Oh...sorry, Axel, I've been spacing out all day."

"You ain't kidding."

I laughed a little to break the ice. Maybe I should stop dwelling on the origin of my definition of the "d" word so much. Time to go with the flow of my own life. Never look back. That would be my motto, had to be.

"So, how's it going with you?" I asked, putting my iPod back.

Axel raked back his hair again. "I was a couple miles from here at the motorcycle place, checking out some bikes. God, I would kill to get a Harley. I'd have to save a crapload of money, though. I'm only $20,700 away."

I remembered that love of motorbikes Axel had. When we first got to know each other in study hall, he talked about them very dotingly. I whistled upon the amount of money he would have to spend.

"That's a lot. You might have to wait until after college, man."

Axel chuckled, knowing that maybe he would have to wait quite a few years before he could buy his dream Harley. It was an easy come, easy go laugh, the kind that made you have this feeling that he'd had a crappy life so far yet made the most of it. I wondered what he had to put up with at his place. A drunk parent? Drug problem? I couldn't tell. You can't look at a person and know his past.

"Yeah, and that would be a lot of Wal-Mart floors to mop, huh?" he replied, the grin still plastered on his face. "I don't think I'll ever get a car. I'll just be out on the open road...like _Easy Rider_, you know?"

I had heard of that movie but never really watched it. "No, I usually don't watch old movies...though I have watched _Breakfast at Tiffany's _before."

That ornery redhead threw his head back to laugh this time. "What is it with you chicks and that movie? I guess it must be the city scenery or something."

I shrugged. "At least that movie's a form of escapism...from stuff."

Needless to say, I was being vague here, but Axel seemed to understand. Like I said, I got a feeling he had suffered through teen angst at some point.

"Yeah, yeah, I hear ya," he said sympathetically, his throaty, sarcastic voice actually soft. In the mean time, he took out a lighter and a pack of Marlboros. He went ahead and lit up while I watched blankly. I didn't really care if he smoked or not.

As far as I was concerned, I would avoid telling Mom I hung out with him. To her, guy riding motorbikes + smoking cigs=future penitentiary criminal. Yep, she's that judgmental.

He offered me the pack. "Want one?"

I shook my head. "I don't smoke or anything."

I conveniently left out that that would get me kicked out of the house indefinitely.

"Good. Because if you did, you'd definitely pay for it later. Plus, you're a freshman. I don't want the cops knowin' I give out free cigarettes to freshies."

Startled by that comment, since I didn't want him arrested, I gave him this scared look.

He chuckled. "Come on, can't a guy joke? Cops don't really get on my tail."

I let out a sigh of relief, but I should have known he'd be skilled enough to stay away from cops.

Taking a long drag from his cigarette, Axel blew out the smoke that came out his mouth like a wisp. It was grayish-whitish in color. I always paid constant attention to colors like a good artist would. A great one would probably sketch her friend on sight. Honestly, I didn't know what a great artist was. With a heavy sigh, I got up from the bench to leave.

"Well, I gotta go. I'll probably explore this city some more, stop being so much of a newb."

My new friend patted my back. "You'll always be a newb to me, Nam—that is, until the next newb comes around. There's always, like, five newbs a year at Kingston High. Home of the Kangaroos, baby!"

I laughed and held the thumbs-up. "Home of the Kangaroos, those pouched marsupials."

He high-fived me, and I hopped on the bike to pedal off into the sunset. But, there was no way I would return home yet, what with an irritable mom prowling about the house. If I walked through that door too soon, I would probably become her next meal. Look at me, the zebra. Speaking of animals, I had to admire Axel's sarcasm toward the whole idea of school spirit. In my junior high, they made sure to shove it down your throat with constant pep rallies. After a while, the very thought of school spirit is nauseating. To pass time, I browsed through some stores like K-Mart and a random grocery store. At one point, I even stopped at this lady's jewelry store with homemade bracelets and stuff.

A flashy fake gold belly button stud (not homemade, obviously) stood out to me. I was suddenly reminded of Yuffie and all those piercings that practically impaled her body. She told me yesterday about her belly button piercing, which she almost showed in class before Miss Gainsborough interfered. The whole "no exposure of belly button" and all that dress code crap. Gotta love that dress code. In that moment, I shook my head at the stud before buying a 25¢ bracelet (on clearance) sort of in a Navajo style. It was very pretty. And I bet Mom isn't going to explore over a quarter. She's not _that _cheap yet cheap enough to whine over most of her kids' purchases. I think she likes being a hypocrite, spending money on make-up and clothes and jewelry.

Besides, with that bracelet, what she didn't know wouldn't hurt her.

Time flies when you're checking out the city. It was about midnight or so when I finally got home. Mom would drift off to sleep by then, so the beast was sleeping comfortably in its lair. Maybe she forgot about me, as she often does when I "conveniently" disappear before getting punished. I have tricks up my sleeve. Worn-out through and through, though, I almost dragged myself inside. Then, for the heck of it, I took an egg roll out of the fridge and put it in the microwave for fifteen seconds. Sora must have heard me, because he lazily got up from the couch.

"Hey," he muttered tiredly. "I was starting to wonder if you 'got to know' some gangs."

I shuddered. "No, but thank you for the charming imagery!"

He smirked a little cockily at me before yawning loudly. I thought he might have sneaked in some champagne from Mom's "secret" alcohol mini-fridge downstairs in the basement. But, of course, Sora isn't one of those drunk popular kids.

I smirked right back at him. "So, how was dinner with Mom?"

"Horrible. She couldn't stop whining about that printer and you and art class."

I rolled my eyes. "She acts like she's in frickin' middle school again. It's embarrassing."

"I know, but what you gonna do about her? She's never gonna get over that divorce."

"I'd say," I muttered grudgingly. "I'm going to bed. See you in seven hours."

Sora just nodded and passed out on the couch, snoring like a...like a...forget about a simile. Up the stairs I went, and I flopped on the bed. I snoozed. Once again, I saw those pretty eyes in my dreams. Riku's eyes. Crud, I had to stop thinking about him. Despite him looking so good, I still believe crushing on him is dangerous. For God's sake, he had Yuffie! Then, Axel's words came back to me while I slept, something about how Riku could never say no to people. Well, what else would he avoid saying no for? Drugs? Alcohol?

Sex?

Oh, God, that was a scary thought. Besides, why should I waste my time on him if he doesn't have a backbone?

I slept like crap again.

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**A/N: ****The mom will get better, I promise. In the mean time, I always liked "Beat It", so I just wanted to reference it. I liked Fall Out Boy's cover of it too, a couple years ago. Anyway, there was humor and angst in this. But, mostly humor, since it's Axel we're talking about. By the way, I personally don't think smoking is cool, but there are several peeps my age who do it anyway. So, why not have Axel be a smoker? I always thought it would make sense in AU.**

**Anyway, could you please review? If anything, it might make my utterly, horribly, agonizingly crappy weekend end on a somewhat optimistic note. I'm serious, things have not gone well for me at all lately.**


	9. TryOuts

**A/N: Oh yeah, guess what, guys? This story is now in A COMMUNITY!!! WOOOOOOOT!! I noticed there were a lot of hits to my profile yesterday, so that could be why. But, anyway, I'm thankful to those of you who have reviewed/faved so far. This chapter's a bit weird...a little, not much. Next chapter, though...heh-heh-heh. XD**

**Disclaimer: I don't own it, so don't sue me for it.**

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**Chapter 9: Try-Outs**

August is officially over. Unfortunately, my dad is on a business trip lasting two weeks, so I won't be seeing him for a while. He keeps wanting to cut back on them, but his boss _demands _them of him. So, we're stuck with Mom. Actually, though, now that I've settled into this whole "new school atmosphere", I feel great. By that, I mean I don't even feel like snapping at Mom. And she doesn't yell at me. It's like me made a deal to get off each other's backs. Meantime, the art project is going to start next week, so I'm psyched for that. On the opposing side, however, is Sora and his eagerness for big football try-outs. He has not shut up about it for days. After school the other day, I approached him.

"So...football season is coming up fast, isn't it?" I asked, wincing, because I knew he would...

He instantly got out from behind his locker door and wore this stupid grin on his face. But hey, at least he's becoming less of an ass toward me, so I won't complain too much.

"You know it!" he replied braggingly. "Once I hit the field, I'm gonna be accepted in no time. After all, I got raw, natural talent to work with."

I rolled my eyes. "Being good at sports isn't really a talent. That's just good genetics at work."

It's true. No matter how many weights I lift or laps I run, I still won't be on any sports team. Why? Well, it's a little thing called natural clumsiness and then another called ball magnetism. I'm starting to think ball magnetism is a science and not bad luck.

"Well, that too," Sora said, shrugging, but I figured he didn't really consider his genes part of his "talent." Sometimes, he can be so cocky.

"Chill out on your enthusiasm, seriously. It's not like you can play varsity yet."

"One more year!" He practically shoved his finger up my face. "One."

I gently pulled his finger away. "Dude, you don't even know where that finger's been."

He proceeded to say something very gross and inappropriate. If I repeat it from memory, I'd probably be getting myself a bucket right now. Brothers are so perverted.

"Oh...Oh God, don't say that, bro! Don't say it!" I freaked out (I got another little thing called OCD) and ran away from his locker. It'll be a miracle if he gets a girlfriend this year.

But, believe me, he's not the only one pumped for sports try-outs.

Today, Selphie actually did a cartwheel in the cafeteria, which confused me beyond relief. It didn't take her long to give her big announcement.

"You think I should try out for cheerleading?" she asked me while picking at her Jersey nails. I've begun to notice it's a nervous habit of hers.

"Sure, why not? The sky's the limit."

OK, that's a lie. You know how coaches will go out of their way to give certain popular kids...um...special treatment? Same rules apply in this school. I'm really starting to think it's a general high school thing. Then again, these are the same people who are knocked up by junior year or are fathers. If Selphie turned into one of those people...

I shuddered, like really, really cringed. She was becoming a good friend to me. There was no way I would be ditched for popularity again. So, I really told the truth.

"You know, I'd hate to be all negative, but here's the truth. Cheerleaders aren't the same after they become what they are, usually. Basically, artsy or nerdy or whatever friends of theirs are yesterday's news. Even the nicer cheerleaders are like that. Basically, what I'm asking is...are you ditching me?"

I had this mental image of her slapping me in the face. For a while there, I thought she really would or say something resentful. As it turned out, she grinned.

"Silly Nami," she teased me, which I guessed was a good sign. "You think I would ditch you for popularity? That's not the thing here. Besides Kairi, that sophomore girl I told you about, you're, like, the only one who's nice to me. Well, I guess Tidus and Wakka too...but you're my friend. Why would I be mean to you?"

I nibbled some disgustingly fat French fries. "I don't know. I'm used to it."

"Don't be. I probably won't even make the squad anyway."

My gut told me otherwise. Selphie was pretty enough, loud enough, and definitely peppy enough for the job. If the two coaches didn't accept her, I would have no idea what they smoked. Even though she was a freshman, she had potential. She would be the type who was molded into some sick, preppy monster. Could there really be a Selphzilla?

Well, I worried about Selphie's state of her soul in the future until French class started. Mr. (or should I say Monsieur) Xigbar taught us a couple of basic French verbs like _etre _and _avoir_. Demyx then said something disruptive later that hour. I swear that he was just waiting for the right time to say it so far this year even.

"_Voulez-vous au coucher avec moi, ce soir, _Monsieur Xigbar?" he asked.

The whole class started laughing at the _Moulin Rouge _reference. Basically, to translate for non-French speaking people, it meant, "Would you like to sleep with me?" It's off the "Lady Marmalade" song. In the mean time, Mr. Xigbar looked ready to do one of two things: puke his guts out or give Dem a detention.

In reality, he did neither of those things. Instead, he rubbed his forehead and acted like he had a migraine. Something tells me he was trying not to laugh at the joke.

"OK, OK, not cool, man," he told him once our laughter died down. "I get one every year who asks that, I swear. Sometimes, I wish they didn't make that damn movie."

Yes, Mr. Xig's one of _those _teachers, the type who says whatever he wants without being too much of a slacker during class. The dude's only thirty-five, no wonder.

For the rest of the hour, we learned that _je _goes with _suis _and _tu _goes with _es_...fun stuff.

Well, it's been a few days since fall sports try-outs Wednesday through Friday, and I learned the results I wanted to know. Sora made the football team (surprise, surprise), and Selphie made the cheerleading squad. This got me concerned, so I talked to her after French to maybe find out if she would ditch me or not. Yes, I'm paranoid about this. When they say they won't, it leaves the mind to secretly panic, right?

"Wow, you're really freaked out about this, aren't you?" she asked, noticing my fear. Hell, she might have even smelled it.

"Who, me? Why should I be freaked out? You made the team. Yay!" I fake grinned, wondering if one of my eyes twitched, too. Wouldn't be surprised.

Selph shook her head at me. "You know you're worried. It was kinda obvious last week."

I gulped for air like a dying fish. Morbid, I know, but that's what it looked like.

Then, I finally stopped gulping to respond to what she said. "It's true. It's just I lost half my friends to popularity. I mean, it's kind of degrading."

"Wow, you talk about popularity like it's a disease."

"It is...in a way."

She looked at a picture of Hugh Jackman for some guidance. I had no idea why she stared at that computer pic so intently, but then she reacted. Luckily, in a positive way, since she smiled. I knew then I could count on her for anything.

Patting my shoulder real quick, she said, "Don't stress about it. If I hear one chick from the squad dis you, I am quitting. You don't deserve to be trashed."

That sounded like a petty reason to quit. I mean, if she liked cheerleading, she should stay in it, right? Then again, apart from my Destiny friends, no one was as cool about friendship as Selphie was. She would have my back.

I smiled. "Thanks."

"No problem. I know how popularity works anyway."

"Why? Were you popular?"

Selphie grinned almost condescendingly at her answer. "I'm an ex-popular kid."

I mouthed, "Wow," extremely pleased that she gave it all up.

Not many people could do something like that unless they were raised right. Even if my friend fell into that particular crowd, she made sure to get out of it while there was still time. She made it out alive. I'm not saying preps die during their stint in Popularity Land, but some of them do pay for it.

Casually leaning against some other kid's locker, I remarked, "Well, you're kind of a rarity these days. Usually, people who get sucked into popularity don't get out."

"Well, you get bored of hearing about mall sales and juicy gossip after a while."

"I would think. I gotta go to art class now. See ya, Selph."

"See you!" she screeched in her practically helium-like voice as she waved happily.

And I went to art with the full satisfaction that Selphie Tilmett was best friend potential.

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**A/N: ****Namine is in French. Someone had to say the Moulin Rouge thing! XD In fact, that lyric has been talked about in my real-life French class before. Mmm-hmm. And I know that song had an original version before the movie, but I'm not sure many others do know that. But, anyway, hoped you liked the chapter. Though, FYI, I hate sports. Ugh....DX**

**Hoped you enjoyed it!**


	10. Hippie Chicks and other Random Things

**A/N: OK, guys, this next chapter is huuuuge. A lot of stuff happens, pop culture references, yadda-yadda.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

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**Chapter 10: Hippie Chicks and other Random Things**

"I swear that if I have to read one more chapter of _Lord of the Flies_, I am taking out a samurai sword to stab myself with," I complained miserably, almost trudging beside my new good buddy Pence. He was a freshman too as well as in my first hour English class with Spit Lady. He could sympathize with me pretty well. But, I seriously thought that book was stupid. It was British kids treating each other like KFC fried chicken. I'll leave it up to you to figure that one out.

"Yeah, I know," Pence sighed. "But, it's not _that _bad."

"Sure, sure, we are really savage on the inside," I admitted. "But, the book didn't have to get all gross about it. And they're kids! I mean, cannibalism from ten-year-olds—come on!"

Let's just say that when I don't like a book, the whole world knows. I kept ranting to Sora on how much I hated _Twilight _until he snapped. I guess he didn't want to hear my negative views on sparkly vampires and obsessive werewolves. Then again, I told him just how I felt about it for exactly two months. Obviously, I had very strong feelings about it.

Pence grinned, even though I acted depressed from having to read chapters nine and ten for homework. "Look at it this way. At least we're not all stranded on an island."

"Or eating each other. Though you look like a nice, plump turkey."

"And you're a French fry," he joked back, and we both laughed.

High school English really is stupid, worse than junior high English. Basically, you get introduced to crappy books that no one would ever read. Maybe that's why we have to be forced to read them. It's to reassure publishers that yes, people still actually read those books written by dead old dudes, even if it's twenty kids in a classroom.

Math class was so boring. I always hated thinking about numbers, and solving equations just makes me feel stupid. Sure, sure, it's great that there's only one set answer. But, then, I get migraines from staring at the board. Mrs. Highwind is probably a genius at math, unlike me. It also doesn't help that Wakka, who I was assigned to sit next to, is as clueless at algebra as I am.

"I dunno, Namine," he said to me. "Every time I look at numbers, I freeze up."

Yeah, it's a total bummer that he has to sit next to me. Then, in science, we learned about the planets in detail, oooh-aah. Seifer aka the held-back idiot raised his hand in the middle of the class.

"Hey, Mr. Vexen, when do we get to blow stuff up?"

Mr. Vexen sighed, rubbing his forehead exasperatedly. "Maybe if you didn't fail last year, Seifer, you wouldn't still be in geological science. Honestly, this is not _Mythbusters_."

Some random kid I don't know chose to wake up. "What about _Mythbusters_? Is there a new episode on tonight?"

The rest of us laughed at him for being nerdy, not like that was a bad thing.

In study hall, Mr. Xemnas just sat at his desk, reading one of the _Twilight _books, because some random chick named Yuna dared him to. The implications of the dare were read a book off that series or he would have to let us skip out on study hall. Of course, he was in a tight situation, so he settled on reading it, surprisingly. Usually, any other teacher would have sent her to the office, but this showed that Mr. Xemnas didn't give a crap. I guess Axel really broke him down. That redheaded freak knows how to get to someone. He's a brain ninja. _Dane Cook: Vicious Circle_, check it out.

"Why do you kids like this garbage?" he asked us.

"It's not garbage, it's a modern classic!" Yuna protested, though everyone else denied liking the series. Axel, who randomly wore cool shades, leaned back in his chair.

"Mansex, you gotta understand this. We kids...we're not into stuff that has a legion of female fans. If it's not that, the plot is terrible. Do you honestly think we're stupid enough to like crap like that? Besides, who reads any more?"

Silence. Nothing but silence for five minutes and then...

"Good point. But, Axel, take those sunglasses off, and I told you not to call me that name. This is slightly shortened schedule, though, due to homeroom. I can't really care about you and your back talk at this point."

Maybe this is why everyone either doesn't challenge Mr. Xemnas or does. He's brutally honest.

Then again, Axel is brutally honest, too. It's always interesting to watch these match-ups between the two of them. They're both kind of sarcastic, each in their own way. Why do I stay silent sometimes in each class? Well, I'm either tired or not talkative. That's the way I am. Force me to talk, and I might punch someone in the face.

Almost challenging Mr. Xemnas again, Axel told him, "OK, _Mr. Xemnas_, have it your way. I'm telling you right now, though, that there's almost zero action in that book, people cry, and there's kissing every, like, ten pages. See you at Wal-Mart tonight, man."

"I prefer to shop at K-Mart, Mr. Iwasaki."

"Bad choice, man, bad choice. I get paid by the hour, you know."

I laughed at Axe while he played with his sunglasses and smoked an invisible cigarette. Since Mr. Xemnas (a math teacher) did not care about study hall in general, he even let us talk. Though, he's still a stiff. He makes sure of that.

Technically, the redhead acted like a cold turkey. "I need to light up, Nam. I haven't lit up since two hours ago."

"Pyro."

"I am. Hey, what you reading?"

"Why would you care? After all, who reads?" I imitated his tone from earlier.

He shrugged at me, proving he was obviously bluffing. Guys don't like admitting they read for some reason. Maybe they all think it's a girly thing to do.

"Well, I'm reading _Misery _by Stephen King."

"What's it got?"

"Usually his books are page turners, have a lot of the 'f' word, and all the gore you could want."

Being a typical guy, Axel looked pleased. "Oooh, give me that!"

"OK, fine, just give it back to me when you're done."

"No prob, Nam. You're a rad chick."

I gave him the thumbs-up, and then I had nothing to do other than homework from math. But, heck with that! I settled for watching Mr. Xemnas wince in pain from his novel. Poor dude.

Mmm, lunch has to be the best part of the day. It was basically the only time I got to talk to Selphie other than pit stops at our lockers. The nachos were OK today, though the cheese was crappy to say the least.

"This looks like snot," Selphie pointed out.

"Ugh, don't remind me...," I groaned, about to puke from hearing stuff like that. Not while I'm eating please. An appetite like mine can be ruined at any time. I'm delicate! In the mean time, a random girl I've only seen out of the corner of my eye before showed up. Salad and grapes and a bit of chocolate pudding were on her tray, and she immediately headed toward us. Selphie seemed to know this girl, because she waved at her, as hyper as a hamster on crack.

"This is Xion, Nami. She's one of my other friends who usually hangs out with Pence and those two but also with Roxas and Axel. She's cool," Selph told me.

Xion wore a strange outfit of beaded butterfly jeans, sandals that looked like they were made of wood, a blue tie-dye T-shirt, and a pleated tan vest. She also had on rainbow colored peace sign earrings, a peace sign silver necklace, and heart-shaped sunglasses. Wow, that was more accessories than I would ever wear at once. I just had the light blue Navajo bracelet from that store on. Xion then held up an actual peace sign.

"Hello sisters," she greeted brightly. "How is it with you?"

She was weird. I liked that. I mean, come on, I'm making quite a variety of friends in this place. My only enemy, I guess, is Seifer, but I don't really care what he thinks. So, even so, he's not really my enemy. I try to get along with people, because I'm a peaceable, sensitive artist who dislikes war. Maybe like Xion, I should have been born in the 60's.

"We're doin' fine, Xi, doin' fine," Selphie replied, chowing down on her soft pretzel. "You ever met Namine? Oh, you probably haven't, but...yeah..."

"It's always rad to meet a new person. The last new girl I met made fun of my lack of participation in P.E. Like I should care! P.E. encourages violence. That's what my mom always says," Xion told me cheerfully while shaking hands with me.

I grinned back. "That's what I always thought, too! P.E. is such a waste of time."

My new acquaintance flipped back her black hair that was cut short, and she laughed at the fact we had that in common already.

"Right on, sister! And nice bracelet, too."

"Um, it's Namine."

"I call anybody brother or sister. It's a habit of mine. Then again, I did grow up in a commune when I was younger. But, anyway, I don't wear these because 60's clothes are back in. I wear them, because that's what I am. A hippie chick."

Selphie nodded my way. "It's true. She grew up in a commune in Oregon before coming here."

Oregon, hm? Wow, she was definitely out of the ordinary.

As she nibbled on one of the peeled carrots in her salad, Xion asked out of us in a rhetorical way, "Guess what I did over the summer, guys?"

"I have no clue. Been to the beach?" I tried, not being particularly sure.

Selphie shrugged. "Concert?"

"Closer on the mark there, Selphie. I went to the Warped Tour!" Xion yelled, making some of the kids over at the punk/emo table look at her enviously.

Shaking my head out of amazement, I shouted about as loudly, "Really?!? Ah, lucky!"

"Mmm-hmm, my mom got me the tickets for my birthday. She had them reserved for six months."

We then started talking about how awesome the bands were that played on the Warped Tour before Pence walked over to us...wearing a weird costume. He had on a red kangaroo costume that had a green jersey while he held the kangaroo's head.

"They actually picked me to be the mascot this year! Um, kind of weird, huh?"

Xion got up and hugged him. "I'm happy they recognized your talent, brother!"

Pence looked rather uncomfortable being hugged by such a strange chick (though contrary to popular belief, she does shower) but completely accepted it.

"All right, but the coaches just decided I could fit in the costume pretty well. First football game's tonight, so that's why it's OK for me to wear it."

I grinned. This was amusing. "So, what? Are you gonna dance around the bleachers?"

I almost thought, though, that Pence might seriously take offense to my joke, since technically, being a school mascot isn't something to be proud of. But, you know, he's a good sport about jokes at his expense. He chuckled.

"Sure, and I just might get everyone to do the wave. Maybe they picked me because I'm the fat kid. I still have to be playing in the band, though, at half-time."

Selphie let out a whistle. "Sounds like a lot of work, Pence."

"Oh, come on, it's not that bad. Being a mascot can't be too much work, can it? Well, I gotta go." Pence put on his kangaroo head and hopped off.

"Go and be a marsupial tonight, my brother!" Xion yelled after him, which made us all laugh.

Hm, what was kind of weird was that the school really let Pence get away with wearing that mascot get-up. Maybe school spirit was too much of a big deal around here. I don't think that there is a school out there devoted to artsy stuff, unless it's some specialized academy or something. Sports excess sucks around here. Then again, I would probably have to go with Mom to Sora's game (that is, if Mom wasn't too busy). After all, I suppose I would give my brother my support. Then, surprisingly, Roxas and Axel showed up to sit near Selphie, Xion, and me.

Xion grinned. "Hey, guys! I thought you were eating at Taco Bell today."

"Well, Woodstock chick, we decided just to hang around here today...only no moldy food for us," Axel told her.

The hippie girl herself seemed to beam at Axel's nickname for her. Obviously, she was proud to be all free-spirited and random. I would be too, if I let go a little more.

"You know, my mom really went to Woodstock. It's true," she bragged, folding her arms behind her head.

"Your mom must be old then," I said.

"Yeah, she had me late. But, we're both vegan, so she still looks young. Dad can't give up that red meat, though."

Selphie sighed heavily, probably thinking about bacon. "I can't be vegan. I know what they do to cows is wrong, but Burger King is so good!"

Xion fake gasped. "That's horrible, Selph! Oh well, it's your health."

Roxas snacked on a Kit-Kat bar he got from the vending machine. "So, big game's tonight, huh?"

"I'm blowin' it off, Rox," Axel replied dismissively. "Maybe a good motorcycle ride is what we both need."

While I tossed my cheese that looked like snot apparently in the trash can, I swore I caught Roxas blushing. Maybe he had some imagery about the two of them on a motorcycle. I wasn't quite sure, but I was guessing those rumors were true. And why should anyone think less of him for it? I just wondered if Axel returned those feelings or even knew about them. I think he did, since he talked about Roxas a lot, like they were already a couple. It was so cute! I had no idea, though, it was their lives.

"I'm blowing the game off too, so I'll take you up on that offer, Axe," Roxas finally mentioned with a smile. "It's not that I don't think your brother is any good, Namine, but it's basically the juniors' and seniors' show out there. And they're really not that good."

I nodded. It might be that way with every high school football team. Or not, it's just been my experience, it seems like. Besides, Sora did have the athletic skills, I'll admit it. He'll probably get a sports scholarship in a couple more years.

Axel told me, "Hey, that book you gave me is awesome. I'm on page forty already."

"Glad I got you back into reading, Axel, even if there's a lot of cussing in that book."

Selphie rolled her eyes. "How come I'm not surprised?"

"That's Axel for you," Xion pointed out, practically laughing.

Roxas punched Axel in the gut jokingly just in the spirit of laughing at the redhead.

The blond then looked at me, like he wanted to talk with me. Seriously, talk with me, and I got nervous. It was about Riku, I just knew it.

"Nam, could you try to be nice to Riku? I've known him since third grade, and he's not as bad as you think."

"I didn't say he was, Roxas."

"Yeah, well, you were looking at him, and now you're not."

"So? That doesn't mean anything."

"Come on, don't be mad at him just because he cares about Yuffie's feelings."

I looked up at the clock. "Oh, I gotta go soon. See you, guys."

Roxas looked a little concerned but dropped the subject. Good, at least I wouldn't have to dropkick it for him.

Riku this, Riku that. Maybe Riku Aoki should drop off the face of the planet, I thought bitterly. That stupid silver-haired guy always stared at me, and I was getting sick of it. I went out to the foyer and stood blankly around, not like there was anything better to do. So, I leaned back against the wall and closed my eyes. Then, I saw him in my mind. For some reason, I still managed to think he was attractive. But, that was because he was—no, duh! Definitely sexier than Johnny Depp, Hugh Jackman, and Brad Pitt combined. And I'm not a Brad Pitt kind of girl. Yeesh, though, even remembering what Riku looked like was...oh, good God, I am _not _thinking about him! Yuffie's dating him. She's gonna get hurt if she ever finds out. I will be killed!! Can't I get that through my head?

"Hey, sister," Xion greeted, walking up to me and patting my shoulder. "I'm guessing you have got to figure things out over Riku."

"There's nothing to figure out," I said defensively. "He has a girlfriend I wouldn't want being hurt, but _he's_ looking at _me_. OK? And, if he cares that much about Yuffie's feelings, he should stay with her, dammit!"

"Whoa, whoa, your aura is getting red-hot, sister. Calm down. I was just trying for some friendly advice. Besides, this is seriously disrupting the karma here."

Who knew that the hippie chick actually made sense? No need to judge by books' covers, I guess.

I did calm down, realizing that maybe I needed to think about things other than guy issues. It made me look like one of those single chicks who were whiny.

"So," I said to Xion, pretending I hadn't been yelling. "Is karma the hippie equivalent of the Force?"

"Well...yeah, if you want to put it that way. And my mom always says everyone has an aura."

"You're starting to sound like Forrest Gump."

She shrugged. "Well, I guess his mom and my mom know a lot of stuff about life."

We both laughed from that truth, even though I only referenced a movie. But hey, Xion got me already, and that is not an easy thing to do. I had a feeling she would have best friend potential, too. In the meantime, though, I would have to go to homeroom.

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**A/N: ****I pray to God that I won't have to read Lord of the Flies in my lifetime. I heard it's a really crappy book, and cannibalism isn't exactly a turn-on for me when it comes to reading material. Plus, I couldn't think of another book they make you read in high school to make fun of. I mean, I couldn't really make fun of Shakespeare, since I actually kind of like his stuff. You know?**

**Well, Xion is a hippie. It's amazing the random things I come up with for her. And Roxas is just a good guy sticking up for his buddy Riku. Too bad Namine doesn't see it that way...yet. **

**Hope this chapter was as good as the others. **


	11. Blizzards in September

**A/N: The chapter title does not mean the type of blizzard you think it is. XD Long chapter again. Be prepared for numerous pop culture references that appear at random moments. You have been warned.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything that is mentioned.**

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**Chapter 11: Blizzards in September**

Homeroom is a high school obligation for everybody involved. No one wanted to set aside two days a week for it (Tuesday and Friday), but they did it anyway. Why? So we could get hand-outs and progress reports and all that crap. If not that, well, nothing. This was our first week of homeroom, our test run of it. Our cute little guinea pig of it—OK, you get the idea by now. Miss Lockhart is my homeroom teacher, and she thinks it's as much a waste of time as we do. Today, she sat at her desk, chatting on her cellphone about going to the bar later that night with some dude named Vincent, her boyfriend, I'm thinking. She's not a very old teacher, very young in fact, so she set some ground rules today with some reluctance. She clearly likes us kids and yet doesn't want to do any more than she has to. She's cool.

"OK, guys," she told us after talking with that Vincent guy. "I would be a hypocrite if I said you guys can't use your cellphones"—people laughed at that one—"or iPods during homeroom. So, my only rule is not to be unreasonably rude to each other, and we should be fine, OK?"

Kids cheered, including me. Rock music for me! And maybe country or older pop or some Broadway tunes. I was about to take out my iPod when that honors class girl sat down next to me. Her friend who looked like a guy who could easily be a Neo-Nazi (I hoped not) sat next to her, too. I hoped they didn't mind me starting a conversation.

"Oh, hey," the girl talked before I did. "You're that girl who was trying to talk to me on the first day, weren't you?"

"Yep, Namine. Spit Lady spat on me before I could say anything."

"Mrs. Johnson you mean?" she giggled. "Well, she is a spitter all right. I'm Olette."

"Hayner." The blond guy shook my hand. "Good to meet you, Namine."

I smiled out of relief. Whew, he wasn't a Neo-Nazi. If he was, I bet he wouldn't have had those blond locks to begin with. Unfortunately, the style reminded me of Justin Timberlake back in his boy band days. I couldn't really see him croon "Bye, Bye, Bye", though. In fact, he looked like someone who would punch his screaming female fans in the face.

I told him all of this, and he laughed. "I've been told that...especially by that Seifer. Ugh, dumbass."

Olette and I just laughed before she replied, "Well, that's a true statement if ever was one. I mean, freshman year isn't that hard...except math."

Me being the average student (straight B's, 3.6, boo-yah!), I agreed, "Yeah, I know! Math has always been the one that's killed me."

"How about all of them? I speak English, but I'm getting a D in it right now."

"Gasp! Hayner, how could you?"

"Meh, I don't need that grammar crap. And I don't need to know how to write essays."

"Um," I interrupted Hayner's oncoming rant. "I hate to be negative, but you have to write one for college entrance."

"Really? Aw, damn it!"

Aw, poor Hayner and his lack of writing skills! But, then, I looked at his outfit. Camo pants, camo shoes even—hell, he could be in the Army.

"Well, there's always the Army," I suggested.

"Nah, I just like the camo look."

"Of course you do, Hayner," Olette said cynically just like Selphie had with Axel earlier. We continued to talk to each other for the rest of homeroom, and we learned some interesting things about each other. Olette played the bassoon outside of class and in band as well as the violin and the piano. Hayner knew entire scenes from _Napoleon Dynamite _by heart, and I could run backwards rather well.

Yeah, yeah, interesting stuff, and then the rest of the day came and went. Demyx's random pop culture reference in French for today was "my cherie amour, pretty little one that I adore." Well, at least the "my cherie amour" part—again, Demyx got no detention. Instead, Mr. Xigbar gave him extra credit points, much to our complete shock.

"Dude," I told him, trying not to laugh. "You are seriously impressive."

"Don't tell me something I already know," he joked.

He must have some serious charisma. In art, Yuffie and Riku talked about _Harry Potter_ and how dividing the seventh movie into two movies was an injustice to the fans. Darn right it was! Then again, I was too busy working on my DN collage to care.

P.E. was a war zone...again. Need I say more?

On the way home on the bus filled with secondhand smoke, I of course had to hear Sora talk about football. As long as he didn't put it in a superior tone, I would be cool with it.

"I'll probably have to play safety tonight," he almost complained but not quite. "I mean, I know I'm not a junior, but I can play better than those guys. In JV, I was like the king."

"Of the world?" I shook my head, laughing a little. "Please don't quote DiCaprio."

Sora pretended to look offended. "I wasn't going to. Besides, 'you jump, I jump', right?"

I laughed harder. "Ah, no way! You don't know that movie."

"My ex made me watch it with her twelve times. Get over it."

_Titanic _is one of those movies I tell people I hate but really love. It's irritating how melodramatic chick flicks get to my soul. But, the plots wouldn't even exist in real life, that's the thing. Love can't happen within 24 hours, right? And does one person have to die always? Why not both? Or, better yet, have everyone survive.

Aloud, despite my fond (secret) feelings for that movie, I pointed out, "That's not a movie I would watch with my boyfriend."

"Oh, what movie would you watch then?"

"Hmmm..._Lord of the Rings_."

Sora cracked up at that answer, but I'm not a typical chick. I would watch a movie I like that I know the guy would like, too. It's called fairness.

"God, you're a nerd!"

"And you watch too much of that robot movie."

"Hey! I'll have you know_ Transformers _is the best thing that happened to—"

"It has too many mindless explosions!"

"All right, all right, whatever you say."

Our banter can get pretty epic. When Sora and I get along, we still seem to hate each other. But, we really don't. As soon as we got off the bus, Sora rushed into the house to change into his uniform. He was fairly psyched about the game.

Well, he was until Mom put a damper on everything as usual. We approached her at the computer (printer now had plenty of ink!) to tell her about the game.

"There's only one first game of the year, event of the season," I mentioned cheerily. I didn't think Mom and cheerily would be in the same sentence. I decided to be nice to her, though, give her some slack. And she'd been doing the same thing for me too, lately. No cheapskate-ness, no yelling, and no overly stressing—it was like going on vacation in the French Riviera. But, she had been dressing like someone ten years younger than her again. That couldn't be good, could it?

She smiled (somewhere, a Jedi Knight sensed a disturbance in the Force) and said, "I'm sorry, I can't go."

Was she taking delight in Sora's disappointment? If so, then let the party begin! No, seriously, that smile was more of an "I have to work too much again, but thanks for the offer" smile. Sadly, we got enough of that crap from Dad, but he couldn't help it. Looked like the Tasaki siblings would have to go at it alone.

"Why can't you, Mom? It's my first game tonight."

She stared at Sora sadly. "I have to work then I'm going on a date with a guy I met."

A-ha! Not the band, the exclamation, I actually thought. Still...she was ditching Sora for a random thirty-something guy? That explained things...and that also sounded wrong by the way.

After building the both of us up by giving us hope that she might possibly change back to her _real_ old self, she killed those hopes again like spiders. That look on Sora's face wasn't easy to see, after all. Then, Mom explained herself...sincerely.

She turned away from the computer and told us, "He asked me out a week ago at Dairy Queen of all places. I was treating myself to a Blizzard. I should have known better than to do that to you, Sora. But, I also don't want to hurt this guy's feelings. I'll come to your next game, I promise. And I know that probably doesn't make it up. I'm sorry."

That...that was put so nicely I could hardly believe this was an honest explanation. But, it was, and Sora and I actually were OK with her not going after that.

So, with that out of the way, we ate microwave dinners (a step up from fast food) for dinner, and the two of us set off for the game. Mom stopped me before I went out the door.

"I want to talk to you before you and Sora leave for your father's tomorrow, OK?" she told me in a very motherly way. I swear she was only acting this nice because she scored a date.

I shrugged so awkwardly I could give Aoki a run for his money. "Sure."

It had been three weeks since our argument that went personal. Honestly, I lied to Mom. I wasn't so sure I wanted to talk to her. What if it erupted into royally epic yelling? Whatever. I had a game to go to.

Sora was an eternal optimist, always believing that Kingston might have a decent football team, even with those so-called jocks. He thought for sure the Kangaroos (oh dear Lord, why that name?) should win.

Well, Pence did his thing out there with the costume. He even managed to get everyone to do the wave, which was his goal. Maybe my favorite nerd would get a popularity boost. And Selphie did her cheering, and Olette played her bassoon at the half-time show. Of course, since high schools are famous for overplaying stadium rock anthems, the band played "Welcome to the Jungle." I think the team was getting attacked by the jungle. They lost 35-7, those juniors and seniors playing like girls (coming from an actual girl). But, Sora played like a champ out there. Once my throat got hoarse from rooting for him, I bought a Sierra Mist. However, even though the Kangaroos did more hopping than passing (Hahaha), Sora was still in a good mood.

He told me to meet him and some friends he made over the past few weeks at Dairy Queen—the same one where Mom met her...boyfriend? I'm not sure if they'll date seriously yet. Anyway, I was concerned about these friends. Were they popular kids? Chicken as I was about that, I asked him.

He shook his head. "Not for the most part, though there's this one girl who is..."

After blushing so red in the face I thought he turned into a cherry, he told me, "Look, most of these people you already know."

Thank Buddha for that. I guess Sora didn't hang out with the popular kids all the time. Well, Dad always did teach us to be open-minded. He has more of an artist's mind than a business guy's mind, that's for sure. Anyway, I rode my bike over to Dairy Queen.

At the parking lot, among all those cars, there was a certain black motorcycle with bold scarlet and blue streaks. I grinned. Sora met Axel, sure as the world and maybe Roxas, too. I wondered if my brother met any more of my friends. Then again, he did say most of them weren't popular, which probably meant they weren't loaded brats. And I had befriended quite a few sophomore kids who were rad. Hm, what to order at Dairy Queen...Hm, I definitely hadn't ate a brownie Blizzard in a while. Maybe this was just coincidence or genetics, bit I was craving a Blizzard just as much as Mom had...on the day she met her date. What if I met a guy while getting ice cream, too? Nah, sounded too _Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants _to me. Sure, I loved those books to death, but life couldn't play out like that.

I went inside Dairy Queen finally, after thinking about fate and guys and yes, aliens. Somehow, I've always believed in those Martian dudes. They're gonna take us all away one day on their Frisbee ships. Some call them saucers, I call them Frisbees. Artist minds are a bit on the lopsided side. So, I went in, yes, and searched for Sora and his gang. I heard him yell, "Hey!" and I went ahead toward his table, forgetting about that Blizzard. I'd order it as soon as he introduced me to his friends, who in various tones greeted with, "Hi, Namine."

"What's up?" I beamed like a hyper, happy anime character. I'm thinking Tohru Honda.

OK, so there were some familiar faces like Axel, Roxas, that Wakka kid, Pence, Hayner, Olette, and even Xion showed up. I wouldn't have thought Sora would hang with mostly freshmen in this group. There was Demyx, my favorite musician/nerd/skater/might as well belong in every stinking category, and a redheaded girl sat near Sora. She smiled brightly and waved at me. But, but...then, on Sora's other side was...

Riku Aoki. Oh, _hell _no did he show up! I was in a nightmare!

And he was _without _Yuffie. WTF, WTF, WTF? Did the Martians recruit Yuffie? Did he happen to sleepwalk all the way here? Or maybe the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles kidnapped him and took him to Dairy Queen to force him to eat Blizzards in September.

My mind was on panic overload, warp speed to insanity. Was I wearing Traveling Pants?

That was when I slipped on a rejected napkin on the floor.

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**A/N: ****Yeah, for some reason, I'm into the Vincent/Tifa pairing, have been since last summer. Anyway, sorry that there is cursing, but it's the whole real life thing and all that. And yes, apparently school bands do play too much rock anthems. I know. Apparently, my school's band had to play "Crazy Train" until they practically killed the song with overplay. And "Welcome to the Jungle." And, sadly enough, "The Final Countdown", a song I DESPISE.**

**Tell me what you thought of other random things you came across. Those two things I put that I mentioned I just happen to remember the most. XD**


	12. Driven up a Wall by Crazy Pills

**A/N: OK, before you read this chapter, there's something you must know. If you catch something about a certain religion, don't be offended by it. DON'T BE OFFENDED BY IT! It was for the sake of comedy, and I'm tolerant of all religions and yadda-yadda-yadda. Just, please, I don't want any hate mail that says I'm a satanist. XD**

**Disclaimer: The randomness of the chapter is brought to you today by stuff I don't even own.**

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**Chapter 12: Driven up a Wall by Crazy Pills**

"Ohhh," I groaned, knowing I was going to fall as soon as my red Converse made contact with that greasy, not nice napkin. I was usually not that klutzy, but that one napkin cursed me, threatened to banish me to the forest of the Ents. Or at least the emergency room.

"Whoa, Nam, I got you," Axel told me as he rushed over to me to catch my elbow just in time. My other friend from French class, Demyx, helped out by catching my other elbow.

Concerned, Mr. Faux Hawk asked, "Are you OK?"

"Um...yeah, I think so," I muttered, though I thought I saw Death Stars swirling around my head. Funny how that silver haired twerp could make me do that. He sat there, looking concerned.

Yeah, thank you for the help. For some reason, I was still in shock enough to passionately make a cross on myself. You know the deal that starts off with the forehead, then upper chest, near the shoulders, etc.? Yeah, I was so suddenly on crazy pills, I did that! Dizzily running toward Roxas, I screeched, "Bless me, Father, for I have sinned! Boy, have I sinned! In fact—"

"Whoa, is Namine Catholic now?" Pence asked my brother.

He shook his head. "Unless she suddenly got converted."

Meanwhile, Roxas as my, um, confessor, said awkwardly, "Um...I'm not Catholic either."

And that was my first public breakdown at a fast food joint. Hopefully, it would be the last. I then shakily stood up, my legs feeling like jelly. No, wait, scratch that—it was cherry flavor Jell-O, mmm-hmm.

Hayner stood up from his chair. "OK, let the records show that none of us are Catholic! OK? Namine probably just took some crazy pills."

"You got that right," I murmured, making my way toward Xion's table, where the hippie girl herself got up and hugged me.

"Don't worry, sister, it's all good now," she said warmly.

I rubbed my head, near migraine mode. "Xion, you're weird. Thanks, though."

"No problem, I'm always willing to help!"

I turned toward Sora's potential girlfriend. After all, I didn't want her to get it into her head there was a history of insanity in our family.

Sighing, I apologized, "Hey, girl I don't know, I'm...uh...sorry you had to see that. My mind might have given me some fits, but—"

She shook my hand. "It's Kairi, and believe me, I've seen Axel do weirder stuff."

"Hey, cousin, don't do that to me," he joked, though looked considerably embarrassed.

Meanwhile, Xion gestured to the three tables my friends sat at. "Welcome to our area! I think there's a spare seat by..." And then she grinned. Evilly.

Did she mean—? Oh, no, no, no, I couldn't sit with him!

I mean, hello, for five seconds he inadvertently made me Catholic! Then again, that was technically my fault. If I hadn't been panicking so extremely over the fact Riku was invited to the after party, maybe I wouldn't have ranted like I was on crazy pills. Obviously, him being here at DQ confused me.

"You know," I told everybody, making a point to turn my back toward Darth Aoki. "I think I need to get that brownie Blizzard. And I think _my brother _needs to come with."

Before Sora could protest, I dragged him away by the elbow. OK, OK, so it was technically bondage, but there was barely anybody else around, much less cops.

As I waited for some random grown-up in front of us (there were three people working behind the counter, since this was creeping on graveyard shift), I turned toward Sora to begin interrogation. After all, I wanted to know why Riku was here.

I hissed in his ear, "OK, big bro, why is _he _here?"

"Who?"

"Don't play dumb. I mean Riku."

Sora looked very confused to say the least. "Really? You wanna know that? You're acting like he's evil or something. I mean, he's in my geometry class and study hall. That's how we became friends. He's cool, Namine, so chillax."

I was getting ticked. "He's a two-timing jerk to Yuffie. Why isn't she here?"

I think Sora wanted to karate chop me into the fifth dimension, not like I blamed him. I was going completely whacko at this point. The last time I checked, looking at someone else was not two-timing. But, I had seriously convinced myself Riku was one of _those _guys, his whole shy guy routine being an act.

"Namine, he would have invited Yuffie, but she had to leave town for a family thing. Besides, he's quickly becoming one of my good buddies. How is he two-timing?"

I sighed irritably. "Never mind. All I know is he's pretending to be the raddest guy in the universe. It's so obvious. Can't say no to anybody, my ass!"

"Um...can I help you?" a zitty teenager asked from behind the cash register.

Well, I ordered my Blizzard of choice while Sora ordered a small chocolate ice cream cone to avoid being suspicious to the others. Once I returned to everyone else, they bombarded me with questions. Roxas was especially curious.

"What were you guys talking about?" he asked as I reluctantly sat near the silver-haired tempter of fate.

I shrugged. "Wanted to know if Sora would be used during football games more often."

"He should," Pence brought up, biting on chicken strips. "I mean, the Kangaroos got slaughtered out there. The only one who didn't get harmed was the kangaroo."

He pointed to himself then raised the roof. The rest of us laughed as Sora got back.

He sat by Riku's other side, of course, and near Kairi. In the mean time, Roxas at the other table sighed while looking apologetic.

"Look, Nam, sorry about hassling you today. I mean, I blew off the game, but Sora texted me and Axe to come here. Might as well not ruin anyone's fun while I'm here."

"Damn right, Rox," Axel agreed, punching him in the arm. "Though it's too bad about that motorcycle ride. We could have had until midnight, man."

"Yeah..." Roxas blushed again. Yep, those two might have something going on. Unlike with me and Riku, who kept gazing at me with those unbelievably pretty eyes.

Still, I _refused _to give into temptation. I could not let the enemy gain the upper hand!

Meanwhile, Kairi was playing with Sora's hair, asking, "So, Sora, what's your secret for these random spikes of yours?"

"It's all natural, Kai," he said this smoothly but ended up blushing.

Olette grinned and jabbed her buddy Pence in the ribs. "Aw, looks like Sora is going to be in trouble in a few more minutes. Maybe the jock is going to be committed."

Hayner scoffed, "I didn't know jocks were committed."

"I heard that! We're not even dating yet!" my bro shouted, looking all embarrassed.

"Key word yet," I muttered, causing Sesshomaru—I mean, Riku—to laugh slightly. He smiled once he stopped chuckling quietly. "I know. Those two will obviously get together."

Tempted to give him the Death Glare of Doom (note the capitals), I settled for rolling my eyes at him. "Dude, that wasn't even funny."

"Yeah, it was."

"Sure, if you like middle school rate humor."

Riku stared "sympathetically" at me. "Don't be so down on yourself."

"Oh, what do _you _know about being down on—?"

Xion then rushed over to both of us. "Whoa, you two, especially you Namine, you need to calm down. Peace and love's the way."

I slammed my head on the table. "Stop listening to the Grateful Dead, Xi. Please?"

She shook her head, though held up that peace sign as though she was dispelling the bad karmic forces in the air.

"I can't. My mom got me into that band real early. By the way, in case you wondered about Selphie, she texted me a few minutes ago. She was going to come here, but she got worn out from cheerleading."

Worrying if my Blizzard was melting or not, I started eating it. "Yeah, I can't blame her...even though I still don't believe cheerleading is a sport."

Wakka yelled to me lazily, "Finally, someone gets it, mon!"

Wait, I thought he was supposed to be cool with Selphie. Somehow, I never fully trusted that kid yet.

Demyx chatted on his aqua colored cellphone with some kid for five minutes and just finished the conversation. He shook his head while yawning.

"I invited my buddy Zexion, but he just wouldn't come."

"Too bad," Riku murmured. "He's one of my best friends, and I would've liked to hear his rant about global warming again."

"Yeah, dude, he gets into it. He's hilarious, that so-called emo kid."

Xion asked, "Is Zexion coming?"

"No, Xion, sorry. We all know you think he's cute," Demyx teased.

"God, no...I mean, why would I?" Xion questioned her feelings...as she blushed.

Wow, what was it with everyone blushing tonight? I thought love didn't come around until spring. I seemed to be the only one immune. Maybe my tetanus shot earlier this summer helped me with that, too. Thank you, doctor.

Xion then added, "I mean, he's my brother. It would be, like, incestical or something if I make a move on him. Besides, juniors don't go with freshmen."

"Not everyone is your sibling, Xion," Hayner assured her. "Zexion's last name is Fisher anyway."

"You know, the school counselor told me that once. I don't listen to people associated with The Man, though."

Everyone else heard that comment coming from her, so we all exchanged randomly weird glances among each other. It was actually Kairi who said what we thought.

She smiled, though, so she wasn't being overly serious. "Xion, your mom sure pounded this type of hippie stuff into your head pretty well."

Xion took that as a compliment. "Thanks. And Woodstock owes your thanks as well."

"Thank you, Woodstock," Sora joked and pretended to smoke a joint. That just got everybody laughing again. Trust me, it wasn't that hard to do at that point. We were all hyped up from various sugars. For the rest of the time, I talked with my pals while ignoring Riku, Sora flirted with Kairi in an actually cute way (dare I say it?), and Axel kept talking about how awesome _Beetlejuice _was. Finally, we all decided it was time to go.

As everyone threw trash away, I started to walk away with my brother Sora, who obviously needed to be recognized as a good football player even more. There was no denying it. He shyly told Kairi Iwasaki (yes, Axel's real cousin) goodbye, told her he would see her in chemistry Monday. People basically hugged each other or, in Hayner's and Wakka's cases, punched each other before leaving. Xion was the most loving. Go, Flower Power!

She practically strangled me, though. "Sister, I can't wait until the road rises to meet you."

"That's...Irish...not hippie...Xion. Can't...breathe."

"I am aware of both. See ya at lunch on Monday."

I grinned, knowing this would be my second best friend here. Well, technically, I had one in Destiny...

Someone tapped me on the shoulder before I could step out that door, which annoyed the crap out of me. I mean, come on, did I have to guess who it was?

"If you try to hit on me now, you will wake up tomorrow morning in Siberia. And it's like 0° over there right now."

I was as chilly as Siberia, granted, but...but...Damn, I could not think of a decent excuse. I was confident Riku couldn't be that nice. He was only like that in my dreams.

As usual, he stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Look, I know that I might seem..._bad_ to you..."

"Don't start with me, OK?" I snapped, my voice really shaking.

Those aqua eyes reflected my own inner agony, like he had known all the pain I ever felt, too. I think I blushed, because suddenly, the temperature got really hot. I let my hair hide my face. I didn't want him to see me like this.

"You wouldn't want to have anything to do with me. Yuffie's better."

For some strange reason, I had the feeling he was watching me, even as I walked out the door. So, I put the hood of my Jack Skellington hoodie (I think a billion kids own it) up and caught up with Sora. He talked with Kairi, even squeezing her hand at one point. I was jealous. I interrupted their conversation by telling him Mom would probably worry obsessively by now. Once I returned home, I went upstairs to watch a random movie on TV.

And then, for the first time in two years, I cried.

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**A/N: ****Xion kind of being the stereotypical hippie was done on purpose. Except she doesn't do drugs, that's the only thing. And she likes punk rock. But, anyway...the angst at the end came back to haunt you all. Seriously, though, this was done to show the more insecure side of Namine's personality.**

**Oh, and incestical is a word I made up. It means the same thing as incestuous. If only Xion didn't see everybody as her sibling...**


	13. Motherly Wisdom and Comfort Food

**A/N: This chapter title sounds like a chick flick, doesn't it? Oh well, since it's been a while, I'll leave you to your reading pleasure.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

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**Chapter 13: Motherly Wisdom and Comfort Food**

When I woke up on Saturday morning, I wondered why I randomly felt like crap. That stuffed kitty of mine near my pillow was proof. I mean, not too many almost fifteen-year-olds cuddle with their old stuffed animals. Heck, not too many almost fifteen-year-olds _own _stuffed animals any more. I knew I must have been in serious emotional trouble. OK, maybe I wasn't in breakdown mode, but I tried to think of what happened last night that could have been bad. Hm, well, Mom was actually nice to me for once, and she was going out on a date with Mr. Random Dude. I guess there was nothing _bad _about that. Then, I went to Sora's football game, which the team lost miserably. But, hey, wasn't Pence a rad mascot? After that, my big bro invited me to hang out with his friends...And that's how the trouble started.

Riku Aoki was there, sitting at Sora's table and staring fixatedly at me. I became demented enough to think h had converted to Catholicism, and he was without Yuffie, who probably had to go visit her grandma or something. Sure, sure, I had fun despite him being around, and then the end of the fun conversations came. Riku tried talking to me, but I wouldn't listen.

I was...upset. It wasn't his fault, though. It was mine, because I told him to leave me alone, basically. In my own sick way, I tried to protect him from myself. Ugh, stupid need to care about people! No wonder I must have cried and nuzzled Snowball last night. If only I had a real cat. Anyway, I was bummed out, obviously. I ate Lucky Charms like a zombie.

Oh well, at least Sora and I would see Dad pretty soon—but, crap, I had to talk to Mom first, because she asked me to. Ugh...I didn't want to talk to her. I mean, when did she get it into her head I would look toward her for wisdom? That was about as likely as the world ending in 2012. But, since she wanted to be so nice, OK. I would give her another shot. What's five years of messing up? Clearly annoyed, I followed her into the living room and sat down on the couch. Let's see if she could do better than the average shrink. I guessed that the events at the local DQ put me in a bad mood. If I go to bed sad, I wake up angry. Maybe my dreams last night have me longing for a good guy. That was what all I had to say about that. So, I studied Mom rather warily. Why did she have to look like me? She had that same blond hair and those same blue eyes as me. It was just wrong.

Seriously, my parents were Leeka and Ruko from Neptune, not Renee and Brad Tasaki from Destiny, originally. I didn't ask to be related to Mom. Then again, she hadn't even opened her mouth to deserve that thought yet. She had to screw up again first.

"Namine," she started off, sighing. "I've thought about how I've acted toward you and your brother lately, which led to me thinking about the past five years."

Impressive start. Did Natalie Portman give her acting lessons? OK, OK, down cynicism, down boy. Sit. Roll over. Play dead. Good, now I could calm down, too.

I asked, "So, when did you think about all this?" to test her, strictly just to test her.

"The night we argued about that stupid printer. That was ridiculous on my part."

Whoa, whoa, don't tell me she was getting all mature and deep and thoughtful by acknowledging her mistakes. That was a grown-up thing.

"You do know I want to do my thing with art, right? Let me do what I want?"

She sighed again. "I shouldn't have been so hard on you about our art. That's what I've done for five years, and I have sounded just like my mom back in the day. God, I was not being the best parent for you at all. I'm surprised you hadn't run away."

I looked at her very seriously. "Believe me, I thought about it...especially on that night."

Mom was desperately trying not to get all emotional, because she squeezed the arms of her recliner.

This was the first time in a while I had seen her this vulnerable, ready to cry her eyes out at any moment. She showed her real self to me, not the bitchy cheapskate who insisted on bringing her kids down. Somehow, I felt really sorry for her and wanted to hug her. After all, she _was _my mother, and I loved her. No matter how much crap she gave me, she never hit me or anything.

Doing a therapist thing for once, I patted her hand. "It's OK."

"No, it's not," she almost whispered, close to crying. "I was so upset from being divorced from Brad—your father—I took it out on you two. And I had most of the custody. I...I shouldn't have done that. My mom was the same way to me. She thought my dream of becoming a musician was so stupid...but then I believed her."

I had no idea that Mom had ever been the artistic type herself. But, then again, I had never even dared to ask. Imagine how that conversation would have gone.

Something made me almost cry, too. "Why did you believe Grandma?"

My Grandma Veronica was OK, but she was one of those ridiculously rich old ladies who got that much money courtesy of Vegas. Oh, and she was a cheek pincher, too. She never seemed emotionally there for us grandkids. Frankly, she made that up with huge pay-offs for us on Christmas and birthdays.

After a long, heavy silence, Mom replied, "She threatened to disown me if I didn't attend Harvard. So, I got revenge by getting engaged to your father."

I raised an eyebrow. Why would a mother disown her own daughter just because she wanted to follow her dreams? And how was marrying Dad revenge?

Before I could ask, she answered for me, "My mom hated your dad. He was too free-spirited for her tastes, even though he panned on being in business school...well, no thanks to _his _parents. So, I married him, simply because I loved him. Getting revenge on Mom was just a bonus."

"Why do parents suck when we're teenagers?" I asked.

"Thank hormones for that." Mom smiled wryly. "Plus, if you have divorced parents, it makes it that much worse."

Yes, Grandma Ronnie and Grandpa Tom were divorced, too. I hoped this wouldn't be hereditary. If I could help it, I would break that curse. No more divorces for the Tasaki family—that would improve things.

I let out a held breath as I looked out the living room window. House sparrows were messing around outside but other than that, nothing.

"If you didn't want to be like your mom, why did you end up being that way?"

Mom closed her eyes for a while again. "Well, maybe it's like that one quote from _The Breakfast Club_: 'when you grow up, your heart dies'."

Why was John Hughes always right? I looked away from the sparrows.

"So...you know what? I'll make sure I'll be my own person when I grow up," I promised.

Mom managed to smile slightly, which made me wonder if she was really sincere about trying to be a better parent. I hoped she was.

"That sounds like a plan, Namine. I'll try harder and be a better parent toward you two. I should never have been bitter at all. I don't need love from another guy to be a decent parent. I had a great date last night, but whatever happens, I'll keep trying to be the best parent I can be. OK?"

I smiled and nodded. "Sounds like a plan, Mom."

"So, you forgive me?"

"You're my mom," I said while smirking. "You don't need forgiving."

And we made up just like that. Of course, though, it was going to be hard, and it was going to be rocky. But, it would pay off in the end. I knew it would. We went over to the kitchen, where Sora was finally eating Cap 'N Crunch for his breakfast. Mom and I, in the mean time, ate Dove chocolate, the perfect comfort food. So what if it was nine 'o clock in the morning? No time like the present to cheer ourselves up. Sora wasn't sure why there was no yelling this morning, but he sure as heck enjoyed the silence. When Dad came to pick us up, Mom was being friendly to him by talking to him. At this point, there was no hope of them remarrying. Heck, though, at least they can get along at the very least.

Wow, it turned from a crappy Friday night to a rad Saturday morning. Who knew heart-to-heart talks could make all the difference? Dad drove us to Destiny as he apologized.

"Sorry about that long business trip, guys. My boss is such a...but, I would get fired if I say it to his face. It's tempting, though."

We laughed while Sora said, "Then go ahead and say it. You obviously hate your job."

He shook his head. "It pays the bills. But, I'll quit one day, believe me."

I was going to ask him what he wanted as his job instead, but I thought it would be too personal. Besides, he had recently come back from overcrowded, not fun Chicago for his trip. This was the time to enjoy him being back. I wondered if he returned to the dating world himself. But, did I really want two potential stepparents? Well, no...no, not really.

I read _Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban _in my room for a while, and Dad and Sora played catch with that Nerf football. Even though Mom admitting her faults and sharing with me made me somewhat happy, I was still sad about last night. I felt really bad, but what else could I do? I was protecting Yuffie, therefore protecting the innocent. No one should get upset on my account. Even if my happiness was the sacrifice. Come on, I didn't know Riku too well! Besides, I knew some guys back in Destiny Junior High who had constant ulterior motives. Why would he be any different?

Lupin had turned into his werewolf self at the part I was reading, but all I thought about was maybe a real-life wolf. I started getting a painful headache.

As always, Dad cured all ills with some good food. He grilled some hamburgers outside for us. There's always the one parent who spoils the crap out of the kids. Dad is obviously that parent. Once we sat down to eat these awesome burgers, he asked us questions about school.

"Well, I made the football team," Sora commented, grinning while crossing his arms behind his head.

"Awesome. Did you guys win any games?"

Sora's grin was gone. "Nope. I just play safety, since I'm a sophomore."

Dad put down his burger. "Hm, sounds like they need to promote you to quarterback then."

"That's what we've all been saying lately," I mentioned.

Dad then adjusted his glasses before looking over my way. Great, I would probably have to be more specific in my school-related answers. What if I had to talk about certain people?

"How's school, Namine? Make any friends?"

"Yeah, definitely," I replied, slurping down my Mountain Dew while contemplating about my friends here in this town. I needed to visit them some time this weekend.

Dad nodded. "Good. These are supposed to be the best years of your life, y'know."

"Sure."

"I'm serious," he said in a tone far from it.

"OK, Dad, I'll take your word for it."

I laughed after that, and the other two guys joined in. I almost snorted Mountain Dew up my nose.

Dad put a hand on each of our shoulders, his dark eyes glinting in an almost sly way. Oh boy, didn't Sora and I learn that look's meaning by heart?

"So, are you two having love lives yet?" he asked, his eyebrows wiggling.

"Dad," I groaned at the same time Sora responded with, "Well, there's this one girl..."

"Who's the girl, Sora? And anything you say can be used against you in a court of law," Dad joked.

Sora blushed dark, dark red. "Dad...OK, OK, you got me. Her name is Kairi. We're friends, but...uh...but...uh..."

"You haven't told her you like her yet?"

"No, but she might like someone else," my brother said bashfully, messing with his hair.

It was weird how Sora shamelessly flirted with girls smoothly this summer, yet he could barely form a coherent sentence when talking about Kairi. I never thought my brother would get puppy love that severely. In the mean time, I was protected from developing feelings for any guy.

Dad started at me mock suspiciously. "How about you, Namine? Is there a special guy out there?"

Oh, dear Lord, I lost my appetite. I subtly pushed my plate with the burger on it aside.

"No," I said emotionlessly, or I tried to say it that way. "No, there's really no one out there."

"I'm sure there is," Dad told me optimistically. "Hey, I met your mom in high school."

I gulped down my Mountain Dew very dependently. I knew how _that _worked out. We all did.

Taking my cellphone out from my hoodie pocket, I dialed my best friend's number. She would be the lifelong best friend, the technically only one. I guess you can only have one true best friend. Before she picked up, I looked up at Dad, who looked worried.

"Look, sweetie, I'm sorry for bringing that—"

"It's fine," I replied in a sharper tone than I would have liked. "Guys don't like me anyway. I mean, I'm not exactly girlfriend material right now. Um, can I go to my friend's house? I haven't seen her in ages."

He nodded. "Of course you can. Sorry again."

"Don't apologize, Dad. Like I said, who would like me?"

My friend picked up, and I got to talking to her.

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**A/N: ****Ugh, sorry about stretching it with Namine's mom quoting Breakfast Club. Couldn't help myself. XD Anyway, how'd you like this one? By the way, Natalie Portman is one of my favorite actresses, so the whole "mom getting 'acting lessons'" thing was a compliment. **


	14. The Old Destiny Friends

**A/N: In which we get to meet Namine's closer friends from her hometown. And an unlikely chick for a best friend. XD Sorry it took so long updating, guys. I kept forgetting due to school. But, to celebrate me being out of school, I put this up.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, especially not the bands that are referenced in this chapter.**

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**Chapter 14: The Old Destiny Friends**

It was OK with my best friend's mom (also divorced, it's all this world amounts to any more) that I could visit her. So, I left without a second thought. Sora and Dad were talking sports anyway, not something I'm an expert on to say the least. My friend lived a couple of blocks away from here. That was how we originally became so attached. I knocked on her door, and she was the one who answered. Coolly, of course.

Because, after all, Paine Higuchi considered herself too cool for emotions. Still, it looked like she tried as hard as she could _not _to hug me. After all, we hadn't seen each other in almost five months.

"Hey," she said calmly, flipping back her light brown hair. "I called the other two. They'll be here in a few minutes or so."

The other two were the ones I befriended in middle school: Rikku Suzuki and Garnet Chen, two rad chicks. Apparently, Yuna is Rikku's cousin, though they are two completely different people. Yuna is calmly popular, whereas Rikku is the reason why Pluto was no longer a planet, DDR machines would explode every time she used them, and her two brothers had constant headaches. OK, only the last part is true. But, she is insanely energetic. In contrast, Garnet is more like me, very shy and quiet. However, give her strawberry Crush, and she is off-the-walls hyper. All of us are oddballs in our own right. Paine calls us "The Rejected Coven."

But, well, my best friend has read way too many goth horror/fantasy books. Deep down, though, I am confident she is just a bright ball of yellow sunshine.

"I just finished writing a poem about witches killing off unicorns," she told me in a rather monotone voice. Her sparkly brown eyes betrayed her real emotions. I just shook my head slightly and laughed at her strange antics. For all the strange topics she chooses for her poems, Paine is actually a pretty good writer. She plans to make an entire career out of it when she grows up.

"Charming," I said in response to her random remark. I think she always had a desire to see all things sugary and sweet and good die...at least when it came to mythical creatures. I know what all of you are thinking. If I was best friends with such a "dark" person, then why was I so tight with Selphie?

Well, I have no idea. I guess it's because Selphie isn't crazy hyper that often.

"Let's go to my room," Paine suggested, grabbing a package of Chips Ahoy for us to snack on. "I'll read my poem to you if you want."

I shook my head. "I can just read it myself."

"OK."

Paine's room was pretty much a black-walled black room of infinite blackness. There were streaks of light purple on the walls and some music posters to break some of the dark up, but there wasn't much. Ever since she was nine, she decided she liked the goth/punk style. So, that was how her room got this awesome paint job. I wish my current room had colorful walls, but nooo, they're all white. I mean, just because Mom lightened up didn't mean she was less strict.

I don't know why, but Mom had an issue with painting over already painted walls, even if they were white. People can have the strangest pet peeves. Meanwhile, Paine handed over her midnight blue (my favorite Crayola shade) notebook of poems for me to read her latest classic. I sat on her bed that had fancy black curtains and started reading. Basically, it was about these five witches living in a forest with a colony of mythical creatures led by a centaur. These _evil _sparkly, rainbow colored unicorns had intruded this Forest of Eternal Melancholy (go figure, punk/goth chick) to spread their light everywhere. Of course, the centaur would have none of this ooey-gooey happiness, so he sent everyone, witches included, off to war.

Unfortunately, this was where the free verse poem got nasty. Bloody mayhem ensued, an explosion of red, salty, mythical creature-made A positive liquid. I think my face was getting green by the time I read the conclusion of this epic poem. As sometimes was the way with Paine's works, it ended with every last character dead.

Once I took the notebook away from my face, I noticed my best friend looking at me eagerly.

Then again, she sounded careless as she asked, "Well, how did you like it?"

"Graphic...as usual."

She smirked at me. "You know how I am? Other than that?"

"Rad."

She nodded like she knew that answer beforehand, but she really likes to hear my professional opinion.

I handed her the notebook back while I pondered over her crazy obsession with witches. She wasn't even Wiccan, but yeesh, she was definitely fascinated by that kind of stuff. Oh well, at least it made her writing...interesting. Gore just makes me throw up, though.

"It was better than the vampire hunt one, though, I'll give you that," I critiqued honestly as I peeked at her closet. Nope, nothing changed, still black, gray, and purple.

She laughed darkly. "You seriously threw up after reading that one."

"Well, don't make me a doctor or else."

I decided to catch up on things with her. "So, how's your high school?"

"Boring. How's yours?"

So, we talked about what went on in our schools, the friends we made, and even some random stuff. I spoke about Riku very briefly, though not with flattery.

"And he's pretending to be nice and sweet to cheat on his girlfriend by trying to get in my pants," I overexaggerated just a bit.

I knew I did, because Paine shook her head. "I doubt that. Shy guys are rare these days...aka the good ones. Come on, do you honestly think Riku is some crass horny dude?"

While I was hanging on to developing thoughts from this question, Rikku (it wasn't that hard to tell) skipped loudly up the steps. What did I say about her being energetic?

Paine adjusted the spiked bracelet on her wrist. "Looks like the rest of our coven has arrived. Rikku was never that great at subtle entrances."

And speak of the devil, she burst through the door, messy blond strands of hair flying. I always thought Rikku Suzuki looked like some California chick, all tan and sandy blond hair. She even liked the ocean as much as I did. When she saw me, she got straight-up nuts.

"NAAAAMMMI!" she shouted rather childishly, then hugged me tightly. Xion's chokehold last night was nothing compared to the strangling I was getting right now. She loved affection, especially the sharing part.

I barely had enough breath to pat her on the back. "Rikku, it's only been four months. Chillax."

"But, we've all been friends since the fifth grade. We're a sisterhood, Namine," she reminded me.

While Garnet calmly stepped into the room, smiling as she managed to keep her cool under this much excitement, Paine rolled her eyes.

"I'd rather we be called a coven, Rikku. It's darker. Do we share a pair of pants? I don't think so."

My blond friend looked bummed out for a minute before quickly recovering. She let go of me while practically leaping from one side of the room to the other. Her mom had her take ballet when she was five, tumbling when she was eight, and junior cheerleading when she was ten. Obviously, she has the flexible physique of someone elastic...or might as well be. Now, she has acting aspirations, and she is fairly good. I've seen some of the plays she's been in. Garnet is a bit of a talented chick herself. She's a killer singer with quite a range.

Garnet didn't hug me but gave me a soft pat on the shoulder instead. "I'll spare your neck, OK? I don't want to kill you."

"That's comforting," I said sarcastically while I grinned. "How's it going?"

"High school is OK so far. We all hate being freshmen, though."

Paine nodded stoically. "Yeah, but I make sure no stupid older kids mess with us."

"And I know martial arts pretty well." Rikku aimed a high kick at Paine's bedpost and landed it. It's a good thing she was in half a dozen things when she was younger. I don't know why the older kids treat freshmen like crap. Isn't our first year of high school bad enough without that?

Rikku twirled around excitedly after she showed off her karate moves. "Well, I'm going to be Belle in our school's adaptation of _Beauty and the Beast_."

"Wow, good job, Rikku," I congratulated. "Maybe your romantic lead will be your boyfriend."

She giggled, doubting my assumption. "I doubt that. I already have a crush on someone."

It was true. She was such a lover in spite of herself. I mean, she's already had three boyfriends. I've had a whopping zero, and I want it to stay that way. As for Paine and Garnet...well, they've just been browsing.

Paine leaned against her chest of drawers. "I'm very disappointed, Rikku. I mean, Disney? Come on, we're not five any more. I turned fifteen last month."

"Aw, Paine, don't be so negative," Garnet tried at cheering her up. "We can't grow up too fast."

Yeah, I guess this was the time to celebrate childish things before divorce or bullying or disenfranchised attitudes got in the way of anything. I mean, ten years ago, I actually liked wandering outside to explore the world. That's how my first sparks of inspiration came to life. I decided I wanted to be an artist then and there. No one could put me down back in those days. No one judged me.

"And that's how I got into chorus. Hey, Namine? Namine?"

Crap, Garnet was telling a story. Sometimes, I space out at the worst times.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm here...finally. Sorry to space out on you."

"Signature Tasaki move," Rikku spoke brightly. "I remember Sora did the same exact thing."

My brother could get spacy sometimes too, but not as bad as me. Although, one time, he spaced out during a JV football game and got tackled so hard, he dislocated his shoulder. It was the funniest thing ever! I got to sign his cast first.

In the mean time, Paine flipped through the pages of her poetry notebook. "You know, I've been thinking since Namine called me. We should get our old band back together."

Yeah, we had a band called The Nobodies, since Paine loved depressing names, and we were basically the alienated ones in our school. Well, except Rikku—she was the most popular out of all of us. She played drums, I played bass, Paine had lead guitar, and Garnet had The Voice.

We played a few gigs...like talent shows we would always get second in and some festivals we took first place at once or twice. Those were the days. I learned to play guitar when I was younger, actually, because Mom signed me up for lessons. I started off with some Avril Lavigne song then progressed to Fall Out Boy and The Ramones and those bands. We were so killer back then. I still have photos of when we won first place. It would be awesome if we relived those glory days of our band before we had broken up due to devastatingly indulgent lifestyles (I drink beer, hahaha!), as Paine liked to say. After all, our favorite classic rock bands had traveled the same route. Why not pretend we had epicly been there? We even told people for a while that Rikku and Garnet had a catfight in which Rikku threw her drumsticks. Those two even played along by pretending to hate each other.

It would be rad if I could rejoin our band for old times' sake, but I lived twenty minutes away from my hometown now. I mean, I don't have a car yet, so it's not like I could go practice after school to brush up on my guitar playing. Maybe on weekends, I could go.

"That'd be cool. But, I live in Kingston now. It's not exactly next door to here," I reminded them.

Garnet looked like she was ready to beg. "Oh, come on, The Nobodies need to make a reunion tour!"

"Or at least maybe a couple shows during spring break when the Lobster Festival is," Rikku suggested.

"And I could use my poems as the basis for our songs," Paine told me.

I was still unsure. "Well...that sounds really great. I'll definitely practice with you guys on the weekends. But, Paine, I just have one issue. We need three to four minutes per set, not another 'Stairway to Heaven'."

Sighing reluctantly, Paine nodded in agreement, because I was always the one to point stuff out that was remotely reasonable. Maybe that's why we actually get along so well.

"Good point, Namine. My poems are a bit on the long side. My longest is four pages."

"Wow, you really don't have a life," Rikku joked, though my BFF glared at her for that.

"Shut up. Hm, maybe I should make the poems into stories, now that I think about it..."

I grinned out of excitement, because I really liked the thought of being in the band again, performing some good punk music. Not the girly kind when the lead singer is all cute and sings like a dying cat—real girl punk, just like The Runaways would have done it.

"By spring break then," I told them reassuringly, "we will be ready to perform. As Aerosmith once said, we're 'back in the saddle again'!"

"Yeah, now how about a group hug?" Garnet asked, flipping back her pretty short black hair. I could trade my hair for hers. Blond is vastly overrated.

Rikku jumped up and down twice before agreeing, "I'm up for it!"

"I'm more than ready for it," I said, even though I felt like I was ten again.

We all turned to look over at Paine, who resisted just through facial expression alone.

"Oh, no way. Look, guys, we're not kids any more and—"

The rest of us gave her puppy eyed looks.

"All right, all right," she surrendered. "But, if any of you tell anyone about this, I will murder you in your sleep."

* * *

**A/N: ****I've read a couple of KH high school fics before, and I liked how they subtly fit in references from the actual games into the story. Likewise, I decided Namine's band The Nobodies would be that reference. Maybe it's not subtle, but oh well.**

**Bet you didn't expect Paine to be Nam's best friend, did you? I decided I didn't want to be predictable when it comes to that. When it comes to Riku the guy, though, I think Namine is overexaggerating just a little bit. XD**


	15. Marluxia Keefer, Anime Nerd Extraordinai

**A/N: In which there is, hopefully for you guys, some humor. XD But, there is some cursing, so sorry about that.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

**Chapter 15: Marluxia Keefer, Anime Nerd Extraordinaire**

Dad and I made up before Sora and I had to leave. He promised me not to give me any more crappy advice. I said that was his job, it was OK. He laughed at that and patted me on the head. Like I said before, my dad and I are real tight, practically best friends yet not. Unfortunately, by Monday morning, I found out it was Homecoming week. Dun-dun-dun. And that day happened to be "Class Hall Decoration Day." Yaaaay! And the freshman hallway looked like crap. I thought I saw a tumbleweed roll down the hall. Our colors were blue and green—that was the sad part. Those colors actually looked very well, especially when blended together...like Riku's eyes...

No!

Anyway, the so-called streamers were all over the place. A pot addict must have decorated it.

That was the first cynical joke of the day I told to Selphie, who giggled in response. I shook my head at her, half-amazed.

"I thought cheerleaders were full of school spirit."

"Acting," she whispered in my ear.

"Aaah, that explains it. I'm surprised I'm even talking this morning. I'm sooo tired..."

I almost passed out inside my locker, though my new friend quickly revived me. Screw jet lag! There was a thing called bus lag out there, and I was suffering from it badly. That class discussion over our lame book in English did not stimulate me at all.

Yeah, yeah, so those kids were hungry enough to see each other as roast beef. What was there to discuss in terms of that? Then again, I skipped the last two chapters we had to read. I would catch up later anyway. And it wasn't like I had to participate in that stupid discussion. Good thing too, because I fell asleep with my eyes open. It's a trick I've learned to perfect over the years, starting with seventh grade. Math wasn't that much better. I got a C on my homework. For accuracy or lack thereof. I told you I wasn't a genius at it. If I wasn't a genius, then Wakka was the village idiot, since he turned in his homework late and got an F. Stupidity _is _contagious. Take that, Spongebob. So, I wearily passed through science (more like struggled) and almost passed out again in study hall. But, then, I got a rude awakening.

Mr. Xemnas used his computer to turn on some Iron Maiden. Really, really loud.

"Are you awake yet, Miss Tasaki?"

I had to be dreaming. Since when did teachers listen to metal? Did that mean Spit Lady listened to hip-hop? I almost laughed at the image of her wearing a gigantic gold chain necklace. But, this was serious. Mr. Xemnas was highly displeased with me, oh good golly gumdrops.

"Look, Mr. Xemnas, I'm getting the Monday blues worse than usual. I had a bad night sleeping. Besides, did you try killing yourself over _Twilight _yet?"

Yuna shot me an offended glare like she would have shot at me with a paintball gun...or something. Meanwhile, Mr. Xemnas shrugged.

"I have not contemplated that possibility yet, Miss Tasaki. Good point again. Still, I can tell you and Mr. Iwasaki are in league with each other. So, be careful from now on please."

Axel and I exchanged glances before I returned to reading _Naruto _manga, which my redheaded friend noticed. He actually stopped reading that book of blood and _misery_ (puns are so fun) to look at me. In deep thought, he scratched his chin.

"Hmm...you an anime fan, huh?" he asked, smirking like he always did.

I held my thumb up. "Since I was five, Axe. It all started with _Sailor Moon_, then it progressed to _Tenchi Muyo_ and all those. I got addicted—still am."

He played with the shades in his hoodie pocket. "Then, you need to see someone."

"I already saw enough shrinks when I was ten, thank you very much."

While Mr. Xemnas started wincing in pain from his book again, Axel chuckled and secretly put on the shades when the teacher obviously wasn't looking.

"I'm not talking about _that_. If that was the case, I'd need pro help for my _Star Wars _addiction. No, there's this kid who is Anime King of the school. He even dyed his hair pink, since that's an anime hair color. He's devoted all right. If you wanna talk about that anime stuff—I mean, deep conversations—he's the guy. I'll show you where his locker is during lunch."

"OK." I nodded. "Sounds cool, and I think I know who you're talking about."

We then went back to our reading material while I stuck my tongue at Yuna. No one gave me the stank eye and got away with it. And hell, not even Rikku liked her that much.

Lunch was right after boring study hall, luckily, so I followed Axel to the senior hallway, which had perfectly decorated lockers and ceiling. I could give a rat's ass, though. Homecoming is for losers who are all "look at me, I dressed up!" Yeah, so what? Are you going to stick with whoever the hell it is you're going out with at the time? I rest my case. So, anyway, Axel and I came up to this kid's red (dull red, the worst kind) locker, which had fallen victim to overzealous student council members. I knew where they could stick their school spirit. This pink-haired guy cussed at the damage.

"God, don't they warn people any more?" he asked himself after various "f" bombs and "s" torpedoes had been shouted. "I hate yellow and orange together. But, more importantly, they damaged the inside!"

Axel and I cautiously peeked inside and found that anime pictures had been torn up.

"Man, talk about an abuse of power, huh, Nam?" he told me as he stroked back his red hair. "What did you ever do to them, Marl?"

Marl...Wow, this was Marluxia Keefer, the _Death Note _fan Sora was telling me about. Hopefully, he would turn out to be one cool guy.

"I don't know, but they sure know how to piss me off," Marluxia admitted, sighing but grinning at his remark. It was then he noticed me, the unfortunately petite chick.

As he turned over toward me, he greeted, "Hey, what's up? What's your name?"

"Namine Tasaki."

Marluxia politely shook hands with me. "Marluxia Keefer, anime nerd extraordinaire at your service! Oh, by the way, aren't you Sora Tasaki's—?"

I failed stopping myself from rolling my eyes. "Little sister, yeah. Doesn't it suck?"

"Hm, I guess, if you get that all the time..."

"I do," I sighed heavily, exchanging looks with Axel. "But, it's something I have to live with."

Axel glanced at his cellphone sneakily to check the time. He must have been needed somewhere else, because he told us, "Well, I'm gonna let you two nerds bond. I have someplace to be. Later."

"Later," Marluxia and I said back as he left to probably go to Taco Bell. And maybe he was going out with Roxas. Anything can happen in high school. In the mean time, I noticed damaging rips and tears to magazine and/or computer pictures of anime characters. Twas a shame how popular kids could be jerks.

Marluxia noticed I was looking at his ruined pictures and shook his head while he took out some manga of various series. He peeked at the pages to make sure they were OK.

"Well, at least they didn't wreck these, or else I would have come after those student council idiots with kunai...from cosplaying of course."

I laughed, not used to knowing guys who did that. "You cosplay?"

"Yeah, I've even been to a Comic Con once."

What was it with me suddenly knowing people who went to Warped Tours and Comic Cons? It was almost too awesome to be the truth yet it was. The truth, I mean.

"Sweet. So, what types of anime are you into?"

The pink haired guy whistled slightly, an obvious giveaway that he liked a variety...and probably more series than he knew what to do with. He probably had an encyclopedic knowledge on anime. So, he must have spent years perfecting his...his, um, "craft."

"Not so much into the girly anime, of course, but I do like _Death Note_, _Fullmetal Alchemist_, _Black Cat_, _D. Gray Man_—quite a lot. You name some series that's not girly, I know it," he bragged, taking out his wallet to count his money real quick. I was fascinated by this borderline obsession of his. If I thought I liked anime, he could easily be a fanboy of it. I tried to think of a series he might not know but realized it was hard to do. Hmm...nope, I had nothing. Marluxia was a genius.

"I can't name any you could possibly _not _know. I mean...hm...How about _Full-Metal Panic_ or...? Ugh, I give up," I tried (and failed) to stump him.

He chuckled lightly. "Nope, I know that one rather well. Until you can find an anime I've never heard of, you're out of luck."

I asked, "Can I at least borrow _Death Note _copies from you?"

"Any time. I even subscribe to _Shonen Jump _magazines, so you can borrow them, too."

"Sweet!" I beamed again.

I was about to leave when a random blonde came over to us. If I wanted to go out with Marluxia Keefer before (and I actually considered it), all hopes were gone now. This blonde was rather pretty, aqua eyes and a face that didn't look younger than her age. I was cursed with having a baby face.

She smiled at her admittedly cute boyfriend (hey, I said it) before smirking at me. I winced. Great, it hadn't been two months into the school year, and I was going to involuntarily be in a catfight. I mean, she had about two or three inches on me in height. There was no way I could win.

Stupid petite-ness. However, I discovered I wouldn't have to worry about getting pummeled.

The blonde's smirk turned into a smile again as she wrapped her arm around Marluxia's shoulders. "Hey, Marl, who's the kid? I don't think I've ever seen her around before."

Not sure if I liked being called kid, but I would deal with it. As long as I didn't get into any fights, I was good. I decided I could speak for myself.

"I'm Namine Tasaki, one of the new kids here."

She looked like she was about to ask if Sora was my brother but shut her mouth at the last second. Good. I think it would have been better for her health if she remained silent. Seriously, getting asked if you're related to your brother a lot gets so old. I mean, come on, it's not like Tasaki is a common last name. Please don't get me started.

She grinned instead. "I'm Larxene, Larxene Peterson. I've dated Marluxia for a while, even though he _is _very obsessed with anime."

Marluxia shrugged. "You know how proud I am of being a nerd."

I laughed along with them. These kids were pretty cool so far...for seniors, ha!

So, we talked about typical teenage crap for a while, including making fun of some of our teachers. At this point, I didn't know Spit Lady had a real name. I guessed I did, but pretending I didn't was half the fun. The other half was pure impressionism. And I'm not talking about art either.

I imitated her in front of the newcomer. "Larxene Peterson, do not avert your eyes away from me when I'm having a class! Is that understood? Or is Principal Harrison going to have to pound it into your hollow skull?"

For believable effect, I made sure to shower her with spit—OK, not really shower. Ugh, if I did that, I might as well be a dog. Larxene just burst out laughing.

"I can't believe people talk like that! Does she seriously—?"

"She does!" I screamed with laughter.

Marluxia then seemed to remember another teacher, for he went on to say, "Well, I would say Mrs. Uchida is the worst teacher I've ever had. She was my study hall teacher in sophomore year, but all she did was stare at us."

"Gave you the stank eye?" Larxene asked.

"Did that and more—she threatened to send me to Vice Principal Ansem one time when I coughed too loudly. And no one wants to go see Mr. Ansem, believe me."

"Yeah," Larxene told me. "Mr. Ansem is a freak. He acts like he's the cops or something. Someone could be five seconds late for class, and then he'll be right there...watching..."

I nodded. "Freak. I wouldn't mess with him."

Marluxia and Larxene gave each other the weirdest, sneakiest looks I've ever seen people stare at each other with.

"'Cept for the senior prank—we'll mess with him then." Marluxia faked evil laughter with his girlfriend catching on. With her, though, her laughter was Wicked Witch of the West creepy. I half-expected her to fly off on a broomstick after launching those nasty Flying Monkeys at me. Good thing Mom forbade me from owning dogs or (worse) cats, so Larxene wouldn't be able to steal a pet from me. Maybe she would use poppies to put me to sleep.

"Do you guys know they use poppies for drugs?" I randomly asked.

The blonde stopped that shrieky laughter that sent goosebumps all over the place with me and stared at me like I actually grew poppies.

"Um...yeah...You're, um, random."

"Sorry, I thought about the _Wizard of Oz _movie, that's all."

"Why?"

"Your laugh reminded me of the Wicked Witch of the West—don't beat me up!" I told her, holding my fists readily. Oh yeah, if I had to defend myself, I would. But, I wouldn't have to worry about it, because she held back her head and laughed like a witch again.

She shook her head while assuring me, "I only hurt chicks who deserve it, not you."

Marluxia then patted both our shoulders. "How about we go to Mickey D's? My treat."

The perk of having seniors for casual friends or acquaintances is that they can drive you anywhere. It's like you got a free pass to the best rock concert ever. OK, not quite like that, but you get the idea. And, if you're lucky, you get to ride in style. Marluxia, for instance, owned a BMW, which he claimed he received from his parents for his sixteenth birthday. He probably did.

"And my job pays for it, too. My mom's a doctor, so I'm thinking that's why I got this sweet ride. The popular kids are so jealous. Oh well, the nerd can win once in a while, right?"

"Sure," I said encouragingly.

But, they couldn't win all the time.

At McDonald's, I just ordered a chicken wrap while the other two each got cheeseburgers.

I wondered how Selphie was doing, so I texted her while my new friends were waiting for their food. She said she was fine with me skipping out on school lunch today. Besides, she told me they had tacos today, the infamous moldy inspirations for Roxas' drawing. Xion said hi too, apparently, and reminded me that Xion Summer's way was the hippie way. Even though she is a hippie, she manages to stay in-tune with technology. After all, how else had she managed to take Selph's phone away to text me? I laughed softly before telling both of them bye and snapping my cell closed. Meantime, Marluxia and Larxene finally returned from the longest fast food line in history. Or at least from my experience.

"You got a wrap?" Marluxia asked in disbelief, pointing to my food. I know, I know, something actually healthy. One day, I realized I didn't like paper thin burgers from there any more. And I hated their fries, too. There was really nothing else I wanted to eat apart from wraps.

He still couldn't understand when I told him why. "I thought people came to fast food places to eat grease, not eat healthy."

"Maybe you guys do, but chicks sometimes don't," I replied cleverly with a wink.

"Sexist!" he accused as Larxene kissed him on the cheek.

"Settle down, babe," she told him, sitting across from me. "Namine is being honest."

Marluxia pretended to give her the death glare, and she followed his lead. They had themselves a little contest while I ate and listened to my iPod. The song was "The Trouble with Love is."

I felt I could relate to that song, which was especially relevant to me now...or maybe not. At the very worst (most), I had a very, very _minor _crush on Riku Aoki. But, whatever, I wanted to talk to Marl about anime stuff. Earbuds were out within two minutes of the song. I hate love.

"So, I always thought L should have been reprieved after he died. You know, have some loophole in the Death Note rules," I gave my opinion as he slurped his Coke.

He stopped drinking for a second. "Well, if that would have happened, it would have considerably interfered with Light's death in the end. Let's face it, killing L was Light's first brush with true insanity."

"Well, if L came back to life, Light would have gone insane," I reasoned.

Larxene's aqua colored eyes darted back and forth between Marluxia and me, and she looked somewhat confused. Then, she grinned.

"Wow, from the way you guys are talking, you're solving an actual murder case."

"What if we are?" Marluxia asked.

"Yeah, like there are two guys named Light and L going to our school," I said sarcastically. Marl gave me a high five, and we all enjoyed our fast food. Though I was five minutes late to French next period, Mr. Xigbar practically gave me a get-out-of-jail free card, not literally of course.

"Just don't do it again, Namine," he told me. "But, you're goody two-shoes, right?"

He chuckled after that, and I hung out with Demyx for the rest of French class. Why not? Life was great for the most part. I made an anime nerd for a friend and his girlfriend who seemed relatively normal apart from that awful laugh. It was fun to pal around with the older kids. Most of the freshmen in my grade, meanwhile, I couldn't stand. Despite crappy decorations, most of them wanted to be true to their school. As a rebellious teen, I gave it the finger. I barely liked Kingston, even though I had made plenty of friends. That didn't mean I had to like this place. Once I graduated, I would only come back to visit friends. Honestly, living in suburbia straight out of _Edward Scissorhands _brought me down some. And Homecoming week...it could suck my face. That's right, my face. I would come home after Sora's game. That was my definition of Homecoming anyway. Oh, this was going to suck.

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**A/N: ****I hate Homecoming at my school. So stupid. But, hey, what'd you guys think of Marluxia being an anime nerd? XD By the way, speaking of that one part of Namine knowing people who went to Comic Cons and Warped Tours, someone who'd been in my P.E. class is going to the Warped Tour. Pretty ironic. Oh, and yes, VP Ansem is Ansem the Wise, because I know many of you despise him. XD**


	16. Invited

**A/N: More randomness, and I'm starting to realize that Xion is quite the scene stealer in these chapters. Oh well, I'm glad you guys liked the whole hippie thing about her.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Sorry this chapter is short.**

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**Chapter 16: Invited**

I don't think anyone who would ever sit down to talk to me would care to hear about Homecoming week. Shove my finger down my throat. But, yeah, here's what happened. Every day throughout that crappy week, there was another theme. Whether it be Hat Day or Sports Team Day (blech, how about Rock Bands Day?), I had to suffer. Or not, since I didn't own those things, much less wear them. I watched Sora's game, but his other teammates played horribly as usual, and I had the urge to boo at them. Selphie waved those pom-poms in the air like she just didn't care. As for me, I chatted with Kairi to get to know her a bit. It turned out that she wasn't the typical preppy chick. If anything, she could be a bit of a tomboy. She told me how her cousin Axel got her addicted to ridiculously overdramatic paintball fights, more like wars.

While Sora did the only competent thing for his team so far by preventing the rivals from scoring, I stared at her. "Really? Paintball?"

Kairi grinned. "You know it. And hey, don't look at me like that with those bug eyes."

"Sorry my eyes are ginormous," I apologized somewhat jokingly.

She laughed as she patted my shoulder. "You're really cute, Namine. And I'm saying this in the most not lesbian way possible."

"Understood. Oh, you passed my test by the way. You can go out with Sora if you really want to."

"Thanks...but did you really need to give me a test?"

It was definitely not the cold that made Kairi's cheeks red, I'll say that much. I think that was what she wanted me to think, judging by the way she tried holding her gray hoodie close to her. Yeah right, I knew she liked Sora. They would make a cute couple, though. Incredibly cute. It would be _that one couple _I usually couldn't stand, but exceptions do exist. You just have to dig deep is all. My brother was entitled to his happiness and so was Kairi. These two deserved all the good things in the world...maybe not me so much.

Meanwhile, I laughed softly. "Yeah, but I'm his sister. I gotta make sure you won't ever hurt him. Because if you do, I'll kick your ass."

We both giggled at that, yet we knew I was sincere. I believed Sora deserved the best, so he should receive the best. Cheesy, I know, but we're family.

After the Kangaroos went through another humiliating loss, Kairi and everyone else changed into their snazzy dance-going clothes. I just left. I take the term Homecoming literally, like I said. Sure, I celebrated my single-ness...by crying through _Titanic_, eating ice cream, and listening to Celine Dion until Sora finally came home at 11:30. Yeah, I did that convincingly. If anything, it just showed I could be the desperate one. Paine would have probably lectured me cruelly on my lack of motivation and single person empowerment. But, aren't I entitled to be a girl once in a while? Besides, stupid dance nights are always like this for me. Did I say always? I meant sometimes. At least my weekend was rad. I got to practice with the band, so that put me in a good mood. Then, the following week—holy crap, it was October already—something strange happened.

I hung out with Selphie and Xion again discussing movie trailers we had seen on TV, when Kairi came up to us. Xion cheerfully waved at her.

"Hello, Kairi Iwasaki, cousin of Axel and future girlfriend of Sora," she said to be random (Mom would call her kooky). "What is up on this Tuesday, between the rise and set of the sun?"

I blinked at her. "Xion...you sure you're not doing the hippie thing and...um..."

"Smoking? Oh God no." She looked grossed-out at the thought. "I can't inhale that stuff! Do you have any idea what it could do to my body? Have you seen the egg frying?"

She was referring to that one commercial when the egg was frying, and this would be your brain if you weren't careful. Hell, that egg scared me, too.

"Yes, Xion, I've seen the egg frying. Now, chill, before you disrupt the Hippie Force."

She nodded out of determination, like she had understood a mission. "Gotcha."

Kairi's eyes that had almost the same exact shade as mine (creepy) went back and forth like ping-pong balls. It was an awkward moment to say the least. Finally, she recovered.

She smiled. "I'm doing awesome, Xion. I got some invites to give you guys."

Selphie almost fell out of her chair. "Areyouserious? Areyouserious? OhmyGodthat'ssoawesomeIcoulddiehappy, yaaaay!"

Yes, she talked that fast. I can't believe how hyper she gets.

Kairi stared a little weirdly at Selphie (because, come on, that reaction was somewhat creepy) but laughed it off.

"I'm happy if you're happy then, Selph. And, well, this party of mine is on Halloween, of course. I'm sending out invitations ahead of time, so everyone can go buy their costumes."

I hadn't dressed up for Halloween since I was eleven. Due to certain events (again), I stopped the tradition earlier than most kids. Part of my introduction to middle school was being called weird for this. However, since it was Kairi's party, Sora would drag me there anyway.

I smiled slightly. "We'll see you at your party then, Kairi. And Sora will wait with bated breath."

The redhead's blush was way redder than her hair, which I found amusing.

Demyx talked to me in French class about that same party, apparently the event of the season. If so, Kairi must have lived in a big house. She was kind of well-off anyway.

"I'm going as a metal rockstar," he whispered to me when we were supposed to be working on vocab.

I rolled my eyes jokingly. "How come I'm not surprised?"

He tried balancing his pencil on his nose as he asked, "So, what are you going as, Namine?"

"Hm, haven't decided. Maybe Disney's Alice in Wonderland."

His pencil clattered to the floor. "Wow, really? You'd be perfect! You look just like her."

I wondered if I should take that as a compliment or insult. After all, I'm not that cute a blonde. And referring to me as cute results in death for the hopeless idiot who accuses me of being that.

Art was an important day for me today. See, the Autumn Festival was coming up, and there was going to be an art booth set up. Whoever had the best picture in each of the four classes would have their project out there. We had finished our second project at this point as a class, this time involving symmetry drawings/paintings/whatever the heck we wanted. One thing could be said about Miss Gainsborough: she definitely allowed artistic freedom to rule us. At least she respected our abilities in that way. So, I couldn't wait to find out who in our class got the honor of having their piece be in the exhibit. Well, a cheap booth, but I saw it as my potentially first exhibit work. And I had some stiff competition, too. Roxas made this modern art picture frame-like sculpture. Yuffie painted a Martian face that was pretty rad. OK..._Riku _sketched fall leaves by hand before watercolor painting them. And as for me...I sketched then colored in symmetrical flowers in different shades. I worked really hard on it.

The competition made me nervous, practically shaking in my favorite red Converse. I adjusted the strings of my plaid blue hoodie while I focused on working on the next project. Ten minutes until the bell rang, Miss Gainsborough interrupted us to make that IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT that was the real deal this time. I crossed my fingers under the table and my legs. Riku looked over at me.

"Hey, yours was pretty good. You deserve this," he told me.

"Hell yeah I do," I replied, grinning, in the best mood of my adolescent life.

Yuffie held the thumbs up. "I liked my painting, but you two had killer masterpieces."

"Thanks, Yuffie," we both said at the same time.

In her soft voice, Miss Gainsborough informed us as a class, "First off, I would like to tell all of you that you did an excellent job on your projects. I'm proud of you guys. This was the hardest class for me when it came to picking the winning piece that will go to the festival. You are all so talented. So, the lucky winner is..."

Please, please God, let it be my time. Namine Tasaki, Namine Tasaki, Namine Tasaki...If my flower drawing would be accepted, I would have a place in this craphole. Maybe, just maybe...

"Riku Aoki, I thought your leaves represented the season and symmetry very well."

Son of a biscuit eating bulldog! My balloon of pride had deflated instantly.

My rival, my art class rival, beat me out. How could this happen? Ugh, curse him and his stupid leaves! His stupid, stupid leaves that were—hey, guess what—not that original. I've seen way too many paintings like that. We made those in frickin' elementary!

While everyone else clapped and Yuffie hugged him, I pouted on the inside while using my cold clap, the polite clap. Who cared if it represented the season?

Meantime, Yuffie hissed in my ear, "I can't believe he won! But, I always knew he was good, you know."

That's right, Kisaragi, gush over your talented boyfriend. Freaking gush.

As the bell rang, I was still PO'ed over this. I was close—so damn close—to getting it.

Riku patted me on the shoulder to talk to me. "I still think you should have won."

"Yeah, because _I deserve this_," I mimicked his low voice before storming off.

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**A/N: ****Temper, temper...Now, it seems that Namine is flat-out, ridiculously mean to Riku. But, is she really mad over the winning picture that's not hers? Or is it something else?**

**Guys, the next chapter is so humerous yet so dramatic, your minds will be blown. I'm just warning ya...XD**


	17. I Can Feel the Pressure

**A/N: Since this is a party chapter, it's going to be epicly long. Mixture of humor and angst. Slight cursing due to the heavy teenage angst. Oh, and by the way, Namine is not gay for Yuffie, even though it might seem that way. It's just a girl standing up for a fellow girl...or so Namine thinks.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own references, especially not the song "Pressure" by Paramore. It's just priceless inspiration here.**

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**Chapter 17: I Can Feel the Pressure**

Halloween was coming up sooner than I thought. Mom had driven us to some store, so we could buy our costumes. I found an Alice in Wonderland costume while Sora wanted to be that dude with the creepy mask off _Scream_. I don't know what it is with guys and horror movie Halloween costumes but OK. I was excited for Kairi's party, because this was my first big party since fourth grade. Best of all, I would get to see people with rad costumes. Now, what would really top it off would be if Riku Aoki wasn't here.

I still hadn't forgiven him for that art booth incident. And guess who ended up buying his painting? No, not Yuffie, relax. Worse, it was my mom. She usually isn't that huge an art fan, but when we went to that festival...Oh God.

Sora and I were busy stuffing our mouths with funnel cakes when we stopped by the art booth. I wanted to die.

"Oh...this looks rather pretty," Mom praised Aoki's lousy painting. "I'd like to buy this one please."

"Mooooom," I groaned. "That one was done by Riku Aoki."

Her mouth fell open. "Really? A teenager can do this. Amazing."

Sora backed me up. "Namine is a pretty good artist too, Mom."

"I haven't seen her artwork lately. I'll look at it sometime."

Yeah, and she did that...about a week before Halloween. Way to put it off. But, anyway, now I had to stare at that stupid painting in our living room, since it had a frame. Nice mahogany, too. That could have been _my _drawing in that mahogany frame. One time, at 9:30 at night, I sneaked into the living room with a dart to destroy it. Yes, those stupid leaves had annoyed me long enough.

Before I could throw the dart, though, I heard, "Namine Ayame, what are you up to?"

Darn, I couldn't do it. Stupid leaf painting...with all those pretty colors...and it looked kind of professional. Argh, no it didn't! Either way, the dart plot was shot down.

"Nothing, Mom!" I called to her, since she was over in the kitchen fixing a sandwich.

Apart from Aoki and his lame (fascinating) painting, I was doing fine.

I got decent grades, even a solid B in math. I hired Marluxia, true nerd extraordinaire, to tutor me. I paid him in Oreos. Axel gave back _Misery _to me, said it was the best book he ever read in his life, and started snatching Stephen King books left and right. Stupid Spit Lady assigned us to write an essay on those reserved British cannibals, a paper I got a C+ on. Oh well, still was getting a B+ overall. My life was all right.

Then, it was Halloween night before I knew it. I put on the blue dress, the white apron and stockings, and the black shoes and headband. Really, I was ready to work at Disneyland. Unfortunately, while I stood at the hall mirror to fix my hair, Sora grabbed me by the shoulders.

"HOLY SHITAKE MUSHROOMS!" I screamed, extremely frightened by that.

Because, to be honest, Sora was in full costume already, mask and all. It was bad enough seeing the actual dude sneak up on people in the movie.

"Stupid big bro, you almost gave me a heart attack!" I scolded him, unbelievably miffed at this point. I didn't care if it was Halloween. I object to being scared.

Sora took that mask off and grinned. "Calm down. Remember what the Dormouse said, Alice."

I rolled my eyes. "Very funny. I don't take drugs, thank you very much."

"The real Alice did. One pill made her larger and—"

"Shut up," I moaned...while trying not to laugh.

I admit that he's funnier than he used to be. Then again, many of his friends in middle school thought he was funny, but that was when he made artist cracks. You can guess how that went over with me. But, hey, since he was really becoming his own person, I guess he honestly wasn't so bad. Mom walked in as I pushed Sora's mask down on his face.

"Ready to go?" she asked, glancing at herself in the mirror and putting on seashell earrings. Weird, considering this was Halloween and a Friday night but oh well. Come to think of it, she was dressed awfully nice...too nice in fact.

"Where're you going, Mom?" I couldn't help but sound suspicious.

She smiled. "On a date with that guy again after I drop you two off."

Well, that guy better be nice if he's going to be our stepdad. But, he won't be my real dad.

Because of this date, Mom acted like she was on Cloud 9 the whole time she drove us, humming to some love song. Better her than me—I'm not a love song person. The two of us were dropped off by this enormous house, tall and painted white with green shutters. It was the ultimate suburban house, and it was on the other side of the city, just one more portion of suburbia. Who cared, though? It was huge! All sorts of cars had been parked along the street, one of them I recognized as Marluxia's BMW. It seemed like Kairi invited everybody she knew. We walked up the porch steps to ring the doorbell when I saw this cute gray cat. God, I wanted a cat so bad!

Kairi answered the door, dressed in a deep purple medieval dress. "Hi, guys! I'm glad you could make it."

Just to unknowingly prove how much like Juliet (with the gold string holding her braid together, who else could she be?) she was, she blushed at the sight of Sora. Though he had put the mask back on, she could tell it was him.

"Hi to you too, Kairi," I greeted while Sora rocked back and forth on his heels.

Stuttering, he said, "Y—yeah, we might as well come in."

"My parents aren't here," she told us, tossing her pretty braid. Ugh, she really did look like a princess. If I liked her less, I would be jealous. "But, nothing's spiked or anything. I made sure of that. I mean, there's no way I'm getting grounded for other people's stupidity."

There was loud music coming from downstairs, and I could hear people's conversations about school, life, and who was going out with who from more gossipy people.

Sora took off his mask to grin. "So, I take it the elephants are all downstairs."

Next time, he should refrain from trying to be as clever as Dad. But, as all infatuated girls do around him, she laughed at his lame jokes. Like I said, though, he can still be funny.

"Yeah, and there's food and soda downstairs, so help yourself. Oh, cute costume, Namine! You can pull off Alice pretty well."

"Perhaps...if I was seven years younger," I joked, but the way my face looked wasn't too far off from that age. I thought. Anyway, Sora and I headed to the biggest downstairs area I've ever seen in my life to hang out with friends. Marluxia, in his Inuyasha costume, came up to me first.

I laughed insanely at his white wig that covered the usually pink hair. "Oh my...Yeesh, Marl, you sure take the cosplaying thing seriously! Awesome costume, though, where'd you get it?"

He tossed a can of Pepsi over to me. "eBay, actually. You can get a lot of crap off eBay."

Larxene, in a short red dress with fake devil horns on her head, walked over toward us. She draped herself over Marluxia and suggestively poked his chest with her pitchfork. I gotta admit, I don't like the whole idea of chicks pulling out their "sexy" costumes this time of year. It annoys me about as much as those same chicks pulling out their ridiculously short shorts during spring. It's like they're advertising to get a baby. Then again, Larxene usually wasn't one of those chicks, so she could get away with it.

She kissed him passionately while I looked awkwardly the other way. PDA...I don't know what it is about it, but it just makes me throw up.

"Gotta tell you, baby, pink is a better color on you," she murmured, talking about his hair. "Hey, Nam, how's it going?"

"Curiouser and curiouser," I quoted, shrugging and kind of scooting away from them.

Marl wrapped his arm around Larxene. "I tried to get her to be Kagome, but she didn't want to."

"I'm more...devilish than Japanese schoolgirl," she told me.

"K, have fun you two!" I grinned before high-tailing it toward Selphie.

At the very least, Selph didn't have a boyfriend to make out with yet, so I wouldn't have to worry about any awkward moments. She was busy talking to Xion, who was surprisingly dressed up as a traditional witch and not a hippie. I had to take into consideration she was a hippie under normal circumstances anyway. Selphie was dressed up as a fairy, wearing sparkly pink stuff.

"Hey, Nami, cute costume!" She gave me one of her strangling hugs.

I patted her shoulders. "Just...stop...trying to...kill me...OK?"

Xion then took her turn hugging me as soon as Selphie finished. "Very Alice in Wonderland, sister. I love that costume. You look ready to work at Disneyland."

"Um...that's the idea, yeah. I like your costume, too."

"Aw!" She, for some reason, pinched my cheeks. "That's so sweet of you."

Selphie pushed her away from me, knocking her pointy witch's hat to the floor. "She's extra hyper tonight. That's what happens when she goes to a party with sug—"

"Zexion, hi!" Xion yelled as soon as she saw a kind of short guy in a Freddy Krueger costume. She jumped up and down while waving enthusiastically at him and Demyx, who had on a gray band T-shirt, ripped black jeans, and spiky bracelets. The kid who must have been Zexion shuffled over to us. He pulled his mask off.

"Great to see you on this night of darkness, Xion," he said smoothly, though stuffed his hands in his jeans pockets. "I have a paper to write myself, but I'll ignore the system."

Flipping back his purple-silver hair, he turned toward us as Demyx arm punched me to say hi. He nodded.

"Hello to you two," Zexion acknowledged us. "Selphie, nice costume, but my little sister is wearing a similar costume and trick-or-treating as we speak. I would suggest maybe you could wear a Morticia Adams costume next year. That way, the vampires don't take too much advantage of you."

He grinned creepily, trying to freak Selph out, but she held her own. "Go hide in your Christmas sweater, Freddy. And don't use 'clever' remarks while killing your victims. It's lame."

Whispering in her ear, he told her, "I am frightened of fire, you know. Oh, who are you?"

He was now talking to me, and I waved at him a little. "I'm Namine Tasaki."

"Yes..." Zexion looked like he was thinking very hard before realizing, "You're the new freshman, right? Sora Tasaki's little—"

Demyx clamped his hand over his buddy's mouth. "Don't call her that. She'll get mad."

"No kidding." I smiled evilly and stole Zexion's hat.

I shouted, "Go long, Xion!" as I tossed the hat to her. She ran off with it, and he had to run after her, telling her, "I paid five dollars for that hat, you know. The state of the economy and inflation has me keeping everything I buy. Give it back!"

Demyx chuckled. "That kid's so weird. But, hey, we're BFFs, so it's all good. You know, his other best friend Riku's Jason tonight. They wanted to be rivals."

Shitake mushrooms again! And I didn't even want him to be here. He would not ruin my night, though.

I told my pals I'd see them later before taking a couple Halloween cookies from the refreshment table to eat. I passed Yuna on the way, and she wore this stupid "sexy" Little Red Riding Hood costume. She was nibbling on a carrot stick.

"That'll be the only thing you eat all night, I bet," I told her, flouncing away in my Alice dress.

She gave me the stank eye again. "How's my loser cousin."

"Great, bitch, just great."

Yuna gasped angrily at that as I laughed. I wanted to skip, so I actually did...before I bumped into a dude wearing a green flannel shirt and Jason mask. Riku.

"Sorry," I muttered and practically ran off toward Hayner, Pence, and Olette.

These three kids had dressed up as Harry Potter (Pence, oddly enough), Ron, and Hermione. Olette even had her hair loose out of those braids and extra frizzy.

"Nice Hogwarts outfits, guys!" I complimented them, patting each of them on the shoulder. Hayner adjusted his red wig.

He sighed, "Pence's idea. He's the nerd of our group."

"Yeah, Harry Potter just got morbidly obese," Pence bragged, patting his stomach.

Olette giggled. "God, Pence, you're not _that _fat. You're pleasantly plump."

"Exactly, Olette, you genius. You're the perfect Hermione."

She punched him in the arm while jokingly telling him to "quit hitting on me" before shouting to Kairi, "Hey, Kai, play Paramore!"

Curtsying elegantly, she made her way to the stereo system. "Your hostess will not deny you the simplest request, milady."

I doubt Juliet was a servant, but whatever, I love Paramore! Ironically enough, the song was "Pressure", which actually...kind of...expressed my feelings at the moment. I mean, Riku Aoki was here, wandering aimlessly as he chatted to other kids from group to group. He stopped to grab the Krueger hat from Xion before expertly Frisbee tossing it back to Zexion, who gave him a thumbs-up. Riku lifted his mask, grinned, and started talking to my brother. I think the topic was _Transformers_, but I didn't stick around to listen.

As I went about my social business, I heard the last words of the song before I knew it: _you're better off without me_.

Truer words were never spoken...or sung as the case may be.

I made a basket in the trash can with my empty Pepsi can when I saw Wakka casually walk over to me. He wore his regular outfit, no costume.

"Yeesh, going as yourself?" I tried being friendly, but I really didn't like him.

He laid his arms behind his head. "It's what I do best. Lulu likes my muscles."

While he kissed his biceps, I, completely grossed-out, walked over to Axel and Roxas.

About time I saw them—this crowd was ginormous. There had to be at least twenty here.

Seeing these two in _Star Wars _costumes made me grin. Roxas was Luke Skywalker, and Axel was Darth Vader. As a fan of the movies myself, I had a field day with that one.

"Hey, _mes amis_, how's it going?" I asked, putting an arm around them both.

Roxas said, "Not bad," while Axel imitated the freaky Vader with his dead-on breathing.

"I have asthma," he said in his voice-changer voice, which was so hilarious. He took off his helmet, breathing out a sigh of relief.

"Whew, gotta say, Nam, it's hot in this thing. Don't know how the real guy stood it."

I smoothed over my blond hair. "At least your face doesn't look like Mr. Freeze's."

He nodded and agreed, "True dat," before lazily grabbing a can of Coke from the cooler. "I thank God for my handsome looks every day."

"Sure you do, man," Roxas muttered fake evilly before taking out his green light saber.

Axel put a hand over his chest and pretended to be dramatic. "You know, Rox, I'd hate to hurt you, but you leave me no choice. Alice, go back to Wonderland, I'm warnin' ya."

The redhead then took out his red light saber, and the two were going at it while I laughed the whole time. Well, I did...until I saw poor Yuffie standing in some random corner.

She said a couple things to people every once in a while but otherwise looked depressed. She fittingly wore a ninja costume, since she liked ninjas so much. It was so weird. She should have been in the middle of the room, dancing or talking or both. But, she was just...there, still as could be.

Roxas and Axel noticed my change in expression, so they stopped their play fighting. Yuffie Kisaragi just was not acting herself, nervously playing with her lip ring...

"Don't worry, Namine," Roxas assured, trying to smile. "No Jedi were harmed in the making of this _Star Wars _wannabe fight."

I smiled a tiny bit, though it wasn't enough to drown my concern. Yuffie had become a rad chick to talk to in art class. Problem was, she wasn't being herself lately. She would only say two half-hearted words to me per period that week, not do too much of anything art-wise, and avoided looking at Riku completely. Wait, could he have something to do with all this?

"Is Yuffie OK?" I asked both of them.

Axel glanced over at her, noticing how she wilted like some sort of dying flower, and let out a long sigh. "She isn't holding up that great, Nam. Haven't you—? But, you're sheltered to all that."

I think my eyes widened to the size of plates. "What is it?"

Roxas broke the news. "Riku broke up with her on Tuesday."

He...He hurt her? What the heck was wrong with him? He had a perfectly decent girl for a girlfriend, and he hurt her! My fists were shaking real bad. I knew he was no good.

"Why? What did she ever do to him?" I snapped at Roxas suddenly.

He shook his head as a sign that he didn't know for sure what exactly the problem was, but he did tell me this, "He let her down gently. Apparently, he said...he couldn't follow through on their relationship or something like that."

I glared Riku's way. That guy had the nerve to laugh at Sora's joke while Yuffie was suffering. Why and how could he do this? He _was _one of those guys. He must have pretended to like her back, played with her emotions, and boom!

Axel held my elbow. "You OK?"

"No," I groaned, my voice trembling. "I just don't get how he can do this to girls. You know, hurt them like that, without apology. And I was actually crushing on him a little!"

Both guys gave me concerned looks, but I ignored them. I needed air. So, I ran outside.

I pushed the glass doors open to get out to the backyard, which was also huge. Just outside was some brick "floor" (I guess), a grill, and that gray cat from before.

"Hey, kitty," I told it softly when it came over to me. "Or should it be Dinah?"

"Dinah...," a low voice murmured. "That's a weird name for a cat, if you ask me."

There _he _stood, Jason mask and all. I could still see that girly looking (beautiful) silver hair shining under the moonlight. Good, just as long as I didn't see...

"What's wrong, Namine?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper as he took off his mask. His eyes, those penetrating, agonizing teal eyes reading my mind...or trying to. And, oh God, he said my name. Every word from his lips could be gold.

Too bad I was pissed at him—it was a fresh wound, really, seeing him be oblivious to Yuffie's pain. I wouldn't let him get away with carelessness, not any more.

"How could you?" I asked, my words like ice. "Why would you just hurt her like that, right before a party?"

He stepped closer to me. "I—"

"Shut up!" I yelled, but I was only getting started. "I basically told you to stay with her! She was kinder, prettier, and better than I could ever hope to be. And you hurt her! You are one of those guys, the type who just goes out with a chick until he gets bored with her. You—!"

He interrupted me with a somewhat loud, "Don't judge me!" that made me stand still and shiver in this stupid October breeze.

"Do you think I wanted to hurt her?" he asked me, his voice full of guilt. "The reason I went out with her was so I wouldn't hurt her feelings. She liked me, and I liked her—I thought—then you came. I don't know why you hate me, because you didn't look like you did when we first saw each other."

His voice had softened, but mine was still rigid. "You don't know that."

"But, I do. I like you, Namine, a lot." He held my shoulders.

I liked—no, loved—the touch, couldn't pull away from it (it was so warm). But, I did.

"Don't touch me," I hissed, so Riku pulled back and stepped back. Good, he better...

I had a sense of calm that was too quiet, too still. I couldn't believe what I heard. Riku Aoki liked _me_. He...had feelings for _me_, stronger than his for Yuffie. But, that was why he left her.

I exploded.

"So, you think you're my hero just because you dumped her to try to be with me. Well...TOUGH LUCK, YOU BASTARD! Your stupid little words are not going to convince me, not now, not ever! Did you even see Yuffie tonight? I have never seen her _that _anti-social before. And you know why? Because it's your damn fault she's like that!"

"I didn't want her to be like that!" Riku shouted back.

He did have a pair of lungs all right. But, this time, no amount of increased volume could startle me into silence. I wouldn't let him. No way in hell.

"I would NEVER go out with you! God knows what you'll do to me. You'll get tired of _me_! I don't want you, hear me? I HATE Y—!"

At his loudest, he told me, "NO, YOU DON'T!" and held my shoulders again. Crap, I had fallen silent again. I was scared, scared of myself and of him. But, it was mostly me. Could I be that loud? Even in his misery, he looked absolutely gorgeous. His teal eyes were vaguely (couldn't be) watery, his slightly pale forehead wrinkled with worry.

And those soft yet hard pink lips...But, I could never think of him in that way. I...I didn't deserve him. I had been out-of-my-mind angry at him.

I knew I would hate myself for this later, but I suddenly started crying. "I'm sorry! I don't hate you, you're right. But, I've been trying to warn you."

"Warn me of what?" he whispered gently, those teal eyes actually forgiving.

My lips were shaking too, along with the rest of me. "I'm a freak, an ugly freshman freak. I'm nothing. And, in my sick way...I was pro—protecting you from all that crap."

His face had totally softened at this point. He went to touch my cheek.

"Namine, I—"

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" I yowled painfully enough to scare the cat.

And then, I ran off.

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**A/N: ****I'll just say I've felt this way before, confused and angry, over a similar situation Namine had. So, this was sort of a personal chapter to write.**

**By the way, please review, guys. I'm kind of getting tired of this story being faved and not knowing why. I hope you guys don't blame me for thinking that.**


	18. Mad Tea Parties aren't for Everybody

**A/N: Hi, everybody, thought you'd enjoy a crapload of Alice in Wonderland references today. This chapter will explain why. But, anyway, I saw Tim Burton's version of AiW the other day when I rented it. It was awesome. XD**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Especially not Alice in Wonderland. By the way, it's the cartoon movie that's referenced, not the recent one.**

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**Chapter 18: Mad Tea Parties aren't for Everybody**

The remaining two hours of the party sucked. I ran upstairs to the kitchen, where I cried my aching heart out. Luckily, some loud hip-hop was playing, so no one could hear my sobs. Why was I so mean to Riku? The longer he would have dated Yuffie, the worse it would have hurt her when they broke up. In the end, if he truly liked me, he couldn't keep living a lie. Even so, guys couldn't make up their minds, could they? I hoped Kairi wouldn't mind, but I took out a jar of pickles from the fridge to eat. I ate all of them. Food has always been there for me in my darkest hours.

Mom picked us up at ten, just when things were starting to die down. Once I heard people going up the stairs, I ran outside to find the Kia as quick as possible.

"So, was the party fun, kids?" Mom asked, pulling out from the curb and out on the street.

"Definitely, I got to talk to the guys and Kairi," Sora mentioned as he blushed the darkest red I've ever seen. This coming from an artist who knows her colors.

Good thing I hadn't worn mascara, or it would have smeared all over my face at this point from crying so hard. "It was fine, Mom."

She didn't notice my puffy eyes, so it was all good. For some reason, when I stared out the window, all the things outside blended together. I got a headache pretty bad.

Cuddling Snowball that night was tempting, but I figured I could go at a troubled sleep alone. I was almost fifteen, time to woman up.

I had the most psychedelic dream in my life—even Lewis Carroll would have been jealous. I dreamed I was on my way walking home from Kairi's house instead of riding with Mom, hands stuffed in my apron pockets. Something must have made me mad, because I muttered cuss words under my breath. Then, a giant bunny ran past me.

Whatever I was thinking about went away in an instant. "Hey, dude, where are you going?"

I followed him to this rabbit hole, like it had come straight out of the story itself.

Just before I went in, I realized the guy had been in a bunny costume. "Pence?"

"Yeah, how's it goin'?" He hopped to the spot right in front of me.

Twirling a strand of blond hair with my finger, I responded awkwardly with, "Things are going great. But, mind explaining to me why I'm in my Halloween costume?"

Pence took a KFC bucket from a Keebler elf. "Thanks, dude. Nothing beats fried chicken with those secret herbs and spices. But, anyway, that's another story. And you're not technically in your Halloween costume—it's a modified version."

I looked down and noticed my blue dress turned black, the apron and headband were red, and my stockings were black and red striped. With my blond hair parted to the side, I was an emo Alice.

"Please don't let this be _American McGee's Alice_," I groaned. "I'll die."

Pence (I mean, the White Rabbit) still chewed on a drumstick. "No you won't."

I mean, I liked _American McGee's Alice _when I was younger, but I definitely would not have wanted to be sucked into that world. I would have died within seconds.

Then again, I couldn't die in this case, cuz I was dreaming...yeah...Meanwhile, Pence took out a golden watch that appeared out of nowhere to check the time.

"Oh crap, I'm running late. I have to be at a conference with Mr. Tumnus, that gnome guy from the travel commercials, a witch, and Gollum. But, we're thinking about kicking Gollum out of the group, the whole split personality thing and all that. Well, see ya."

Shoving his KFC bucket into my arms, he just managed to squeeze through the hole. I blankly stood there, blinking at the chicken. I nibbled on a leg before tossing the bucket aside.

Once I pushed myself through the hole, I fell but more like floated with my skirt open slightly. I was Alice...I was actually the real Alice, seeing all these weirdly shaped clocks and other things going down or up the rabbit hole. I liked reliving watching the movie, only this time, I was _in _the movie. Too bad I landed uncomfortably on my butt, because that totally ruined the moment for me. I frowned. Well, since I wasn't in that random little room like in the movie or book but outside, I decided to take a look around. It wouldn't kill me to, so I walked down the...wait, the yellow brick road?

"Wrong story!" I shouted up to the magical sky, and then the bricks randomly disappeared.

I nodded. "Thank you."

I picked some talking flowers nearby; surprisingly, they didn't mind, except a red rose whose face oddly resembled Yuna's.

"Hey, put me down, you emo—!"

"Ahahah," I gently scolded the flower. "I haven't been called emo since eighth grade, and I intend on keeping it that way. Later, rose."

And I crushed her petals, which caused her to scream in agony. I laughed. Yuna wasn't necessarily my arch rival or anything, but she was just an annoying twit. So, no more flower picking for the day—I didn't care. Just as I was walking through some forest, I heard two people coming my way. Roxas and Sora, in matching clothes, marched up to me.

"Hello. Namine, come play with us, come play with us, come play with us...," they told me in droning, monotone voices. I shook my head disapprovingly again.

I sighed. "God, my dream can't even get references right! Guys, that was off _The Shining_, at that one creepy part with the twins. Girl twins by the way."

Sora scratched his head. "I'm sorry about that. Seriously, though, why would you accuse your own brother of being a girl?"

"Dude, Roxas is your brother in this dream. Go with it!" I yelled at him as usual.

Roxas rolled his eyes at Sora. "Yeah, thanks, _bro_."

Their matching clothes happened to be purple pants, dark blue shirts, and weird yellow and red beanies. My dream was seriously tripping.

"You know, Namine, this dream is supposed to be—" Sora started off.

"A sign from your geeky subconscious to be in touch with your inner child," Roxas finished.

I gave them both strange stares. "I'm already in touch with my inner child."

"We don't think so—"

"At all."

"Stop finishing—!"

"Your sentences, brother?"

Sora flexed his muscles. "Oh, you're dead, Roxas! I don't even care if you're my brother from another dimension."

I slowly walked away from them as they got into a fistfight, a full-out brawl that became uglier and uglier. I was just thankful for having a sibling a year older than me and not a twin sister. Couldn't you imagine all the hair tugging and name calling that would happen? I was almost out of the forest when I heard a familiar voice drawl, "Oh yeah, time to light up."

That was practically his catchphrase, so big surprise I would hear it now. "Axel?"

"The one and only, except I'm not sure I like the change in body."

Sure enough, he squirmed over to me, only he was a blue caterpillar with the recognizable spikes that were normally his hair and that face. He smoked through his hookah, making the smoke circles that anyone would know from the supposedly smart Caterpillar.

I held my thumb up upon seeing the way he moved, just like a worm would. "I like your new bod just fine, Axe. Big surprise you should be smoking in my dream."

He nodded in agreement. "Yeah, but this bong is awesome."

"Um, it's called a hookah, and you don't smoke pot," I pointed out.

"Oh...oh yeah, I smoke opium, don't I?"

I sighed out of pity. "Way worse, man, waaay worse."

He breathed in that flower powder real deep. "So, this is the part I give out advice, don't I?"

"Well, yeah, you're supposed to be the Wise Caterpillar after all."

Axel looked dizzy from the fumes he was breathing in, those insanely blue smoke rings that circled his head like halos. Of course, I couldn't compare smoke to...you know.

Using one of his gloved hands to tap his lips (since he had no chin) to think, he then seemed to remember something. He snapped his fingers.

"Ah-ha! Here's a piece of advice for you, Nam, so you better sit down."

Once he pointed to a mushroom seat, I sat down, twiddling my thumbs.

"K," Axel told me. "Here it is. Don't judge Riku Aoki based on what he did, but on who he is. Sure, sure, he broke up with Yuff. That sucked. But, it was better that he did that instead of living a lie. You know what I mean?"

I was shocked and a tad irritable. "Not really, and besides, this is a dream. None of this is real."

Apparently, he didn't expect me to hear his advice with such narrow-mindedness, because he sighed and let out smoke that spelled itself "listen to me."

"I know, I know, and under normal circumstances, Pence isn't in animal costumes _that _often, Roxas and Sora would never be related, and I wouldn't be smoking something that came from flowers. I prefer my nicotine, you know. Seriously, though, Riku...He ain't like other dudes. But, I'm already giving away too much."

Shocked, I adjusted my headband nervously. "Wait, no way. You actually haven't told me enough."

Axel shrugged as only a caterpillar could do. "Nope, can't say any more, sorry. The Red Queen would chop my head off if she found out. Besides, I would be describing your life in three months."

As he crawled away to who knew where, I chased after him, though in a slow jog. "Wait, so you're saying he meant it when he said he liked me?"

He slightly turned around, and the smoke spelled this time "can't tell ya, kid." And then, he continued on his way without me stopping him.

"Thanks a lot, Axel," I grumbled before getting out of the forest. "You smoke too much."

This dream was just not going to end well for me, was it? Oh well, the people I met so far were Pence, Sora, Roxas, and Axel. I mean, I should have been grateful I hadn't run into...oh...

I saw a table set up in someone's yard with three people sitting around it, sipping tea.

Demyx must have been the Dormouse, because he kept dozing off every five seconds and wore Mickey Mouse ears on his head. Zexion, who sat across from him, went off on some random rant, so he must have been the March Hare. He even had a lucky rabbit's foot hanging off a chain necklace to prove it.

"So, another talking animal movie is being made _again_!" Zexion yelled louder than necessary as he woke up Dem by pounding his fist on the table. "And it's in 3-D! Honestly, the stupidity of Hollywood these days."

A gloved hand snatched the raving guy's tea away. "Isn't that the truth, Zex?"

I knew that voice, the way it would make my heart stop beating. The silver haired guy wearing a top green hat in size 10/6 was none other than Riku Aoki. As the Mad Hatter. Oh no...

Reluctantly, I stepped out from behind that nice safe tree I had used as my hiding spot, so those three could see me. Demyx, though sleepy, was actually the observant one.

"Oh, look guys, it's Namine...I'm tired...By the way, did you two see Robert the Flying—?"

And he passed out again. Unfortunately, Zexion and Riku were staring right at me, especially Riku. Shocked, he dropped his teacup, which splashed tea over the "Hare's" face.

Angrily, Zexion wiped it off. "Yeesh, man, I know you said this girl was pretty earlier, but this is ridiculous!"

He...He thought I was pretty? Oh God no, I was blushing! But, it was too late to turn back now.

"Namine?" Riku whispered, as though the breath had been taken out of him.

I think my breath was gone too, because I currently drowned in his beautiful blue-green eyes that practically trapped me. Wow, this guy...I didn't even know people of the male persuasion could thrill me like this. Then, Riku did somersaults all the way to where I stood.

He declared, "I'm not dreaming!"

"No, but I am," I replied, giving him a wry smile.

As soon as he stopped his acrobatics, he took my hand in his and kissed it. "_Enchanté_."

"Um...aren't you in Spanish or something?" I asked him, because I was pretty sure he wasn't taking a French class. Wow, though, he sure was charming. I think I blushed redder.

Zexion leaned back in his chair, propping his feet up on the table (for some reason, he had hobbit feet) and told Riku, "Yeah, yeah, romantic reunion, how cute. Now, can we talk about something _interesting _like the million and one ways to capture a Jabberwocky?"

What? A Jabberwocky wasn't even easy to capture! Had Zexion gone completely insane? Either way, Riku practically dragged me to the tea table and sat me down on a random armchair. Demyx woke up long enough to fiddle with his Mickey Mouse ears before going back to sleep with his face in his teacup.

"He does that a lot," Zexion hissed in my ear. "I don't think his cousin is half as sleepy as—"

Meantime, Mad Riku smashed my teacup with a giant hammer. "Move down, everyone!"

Yeesh, this was getting old fast, and something told me I wouldn't be able to get a sip of tea. Oh well, I dreamed, so no liquid would really go down my throat. Besides, was I even a tea person? Apparently, Zexion, Riku, and Demyx were.

Flipping back that weird colored hair of his, Zexion remarked, "I'm bored. Can we stuff Demyx in the teapot now?"

Riku grinned with two buck front teeth among an otherwise perfect smile. "Yeah, I bet Namine would enjoy seeing how we do it."

"Um..." But, no words could come out of me. Riku and Zexion were soon lifting Demyx before stuffing him in a giant silver teapot I hadn't seen before. And it was also pretty weird how I saw a tail dangling from Demyx's butt.

He was yelling something about a Manbearpig (oh, the old _South Park _reference, a classic in most of my dreams) before the March Hare/Zexion closed the lid.

"Where to?"

"Hm..." Riku looked deep in thought. "How about Mordor?"

I yelled, "No, don't, that's cruel!"

"You're right as always. All right then, Azkaban it is."

My face got all pale as the teapot started walking away toward the wizard prison. Then again, it wouldn't get past the security system. Oh, why did I care? This was a dream! Peering through that silky, beautiful silver hair, Riku looked at me intently. It was almost intimidating.

In a soft voice, he asked of his best friend, "Zexion, could you go home for the day? I know that crazy tea parties don't happen every day, but there's something I need to discuss with our guest."

Only in my dreams could people talk like they were from books. Zexion shrugged, stole a smaller teapot on his way out, and chugged it all the way to his house. I couldn't help but think he would be as insane over it as someone else would over caffeine. Anyway, this left me and the one guy who could easily confuse me alone. Together. I started playing with my hair too much while I started trembling. How was I going to explain myself after what I did tonight? Riku noticed and kneeled by my chair.

I looked into his eyes again, and my trembling must have been noticeable at this point, because Riku grabbed my hands. He had the most flawless face, as though it had been carved from stone like a Greek sculpture. He smiled at me.

"I know what you're thinking," he said gently, removing a strand of hair from my face. "How can someone so crazy like someone who—?"

I sighed and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Riku, I'm the crazy one here. I yelled at you and said things I would never mean to anybody else, much less you."

He placed two gloved fingers to my lips. "Shhh, Namine, I know you didn't mean it. It's OK. Look, I know things will be awkward, but you will be surprised later on, believe me."

His eyes twinkled like the stars, and his smile had gotten even softer, melting my heart in the process. No denying it, he was cute.

I started blushing, so I turned my head away...But, he stopped me. My breathing hitched in my throat. His hands on either side of my face, he made me look at him while my heart pounded. At this point, he wasn't so much like the guy playing the Mad Hatter in my downright bizarre dream as he was the guy I crushed on. Still, I had no idea how I would face him in the real world. But, this...this was enough for now. Just until things got better.

"Namine." Riku's low voice had dropped to a soothing whisper. "You have no idea how much I like you, how much I want to be with you. Sorry for what I did."

"It's what I did," I murmured.

His lips were so close. "Don't blame yourself. I'll never let you do that."

I could almost _feel _his soft pink lips on mine, when an earthquake ruined the moment. No, wait, not an earthquake—it was the Red Queen and her card soldiers intruding on _our _moment of bliss. She pointed her scepter my way.

"Cards, off with her head!" she yelled, bursting into insane laughter.

I rubbed my eyes. "Holy crap, Yuffie?"

Before the cards could pounce on me, I suddenly was sucked into a vortex.

"_Feed your head, feed your head."_

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**A/N: ****The inspiration for this chapter actually was an Ouran Host Club AMV with the song "White Rabbit" (the lyrics that I don't own and were referenced at the end) during the OHC AiW edition episode. I only knew that episode existed because of that AMV. Plus, yes, I took many liberties here, including making characters OOC, usually something I frown upon unless you can impress me. **

**What'd you think of this chapter? Talk to me. XD**


	19. Band Practice Makes Perfect

**A/N: Guys, I'm sorry, but I screwed up. I accidentally misnumbered some of the chapters, so that the last chapter was really supposed to be chapter 20. So, crap, I accidentally gave out spoilers. Sorry. I corrected the problems. And chapter 20 will be back up, for those of you who haven't read it yet. OK, here's the REAL chapter 19. Again, sorry.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my apologies.**

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**Chapter 19: Band Practice Makes Perfect**

I fell out of bed as a very rude wake-up call the next morning, painfully on the carpet below. At least the cushioning broke my fall. Still...ouch! What happened? Where was I? Oh yeah, I had just woken up from the strangest dream I ever experienced in my life, but it was also the most thrilling. I had played Alice in my own dream movie adaptation, meeting all the weird characters that my other friends and brother were. One in particular, the Mad Hatter, really caught my eye...He had been Riku Aoki, who almost kissed me when Queen Yuffie interrupted.

Crud, Yuffie...She might kill me. But, what about Riku? After last night...oh no, it all came back! Deeply upset, I shut my eyes tightly, still on the floor like a pathetic worm. I never wanted to hurt him, but I was so angry and confused over who he really was as a person.

And I thought Friday nights were supposed to be fun for most people. This year, it seemed like Friday nights brought nothing but misery for me. Ironically, these crappy nights seemed to revolve around Riku. Well, obviously, I needed to be nicer to him. Too late, huh? I barely managed to get up, get dressed, and eat cereal. Sora decided to have a staring contest with me, or it seemed like. He just stared and stared until I snapped.

"What?" I asked grumpily, too angry even for eating marshmallow rainbows.

He sighed, shook his head, and finally told me, "You got upset at that party."

It was a statement not a question. I knew then that number one: Riku spilled the beans or number two: people knew I had disappeared upstairs for the rest of the party.

I twiddled with my hair quite a bit and nibbled on my bottom lip nervously. How come that guy always kept popping up in my mind? Since it was visiting day to Destiny, I guess I could help my friends (aka my band) and write a song about my frustrated feelings. Well, maybe later, as soon as Sora finished torturing me.

I confessed. "OK, if you really need to know, I...I was stupid with a certain guy. I thought he was a player, because I felt like I couldn't trust him."

Sora then acted like he got a migraine. "It was Riku, wasn't it?"

"Like you should care!" I moodily snapped before I shoved the bowl aside.

Then, I went upstairs to write the song I planned before Dad picked us up.

Now, usually, the bassist doesn't write the lyrics to the band's songs—he's (or she's) just there like the drummer. It's up to the lead guitarist or singer to think up the magic words to get them to number one on the charts. With our band, Paine wrote the lyrics, since she was the creative genius behind The Nobodies in the first place. Sometimes, Garnet would contribute. As for me, I'm not much of a writer except when the inspiration moves me. Today just happened to be one of those days. Maybe I partially owed the credit to Riku.

Anyway, this visit to Dad's was different, because I asked to be dropped off at Paine's house instead. Our band practiced more often lately, since we were very intent on a big comeback. I carried a piece of paper with the song on it in my pocket.

Dad grinned and held the thumbs-up. "Getting the old band back together, huh? Great! I kept thinking you guys were robbed every time you didn't win first place at talent shows."

I fake smiled. "Thanks for reminding me, Dad."

As I was going to get out of the car, Sora gave me a strange look, probably due to our conversation or lack thereof this morning. I didn't want to talk about Riku, though. It hurt too much to know I could actually say extremely cruel things to somebody like him. The thought itself practically crushed me. In fact, my big bro was about to open his mouth.

"We'll talk about it later," I told him flatly before I closed the car door.

I had a feeling Sora planned on taking what I did to Riku personally...not like I could blame him. Aoki seemed to be a nice enough guy, innocent, or as innocent as a guy his age could get. Still, I had no right to vent on him like I did.

Whatever, I had band business to take care of for the day.

Paine, Garnet, and Rikku were practicing in the garage once I got there. Paine strummed the strings, her fingers flying as she played some wicked awesome chords. She was a guitar prodigy as well as a great writer. She'll probably make millions of dollars on her ideas one day. As for Rikku, she energetically pounded on the drums, making serious noise. And Garnet sang like the dark angel she wasn't in real life. However, the whole rich, goth female voice suited a rock band like us very well.

"Hey, guys," I greeted cheerily, which startled my friends out of their happy place. Rikku let go of her drumsticks mid-drumming, and they ended up hitting Garnet on the head.

"Ouuuch!" she groaned, giving the blond chick a fake death glare. "Rikku, gosh, you're so reckless with those drumsticks."

Rikku grinned "innocently." "I can't help it, Gar. I'm a drummer. Oh, hey, Namine. How's Her Royal Highness Cousin Yuna doing these days?"

"As self-centered and stupid as ever," I assured her that Yuna basically still sucked as a person. "Oh, um, hey Paine. I got a new song for us."

My best friend reluctantly stopped messing around with her favorite instrument for a bit. However, one of her eyebrows went up in interest.

"Really? Let me see. I just hope this isn't about kitties or anything."

I blushed out of embarrassment. "I was twelve, OK? I hadn't been world weary yet."

"That's true. OK, I'm going to read this, see if it's any good."

Paine's light brown eyes skimmed over the page, which seemed to take forever. After all, I was nervous whether the talented writer of our group would like my song or not. I mean, like she said, I was actually dumb enough to come up with a song about kittens before.

Luckily, though, it looked like Paine was so impressed, her eyes widened out of a combination of disbelief and amazement. My skills must have evolved.

"Wow...I mean, Namine, this is seriously good. It's not a happy song at all. It's a 'my life sucks' teen angst song. Guys, check Namine's song out."

At this point, Garnet and Rikku stepped closer to Paine to look over her shoulder at the paper. They nodded their heads in approval.

"Amazing, Nami! It's totally killer!" Rikku squealed, hugging me tightly.

I swear my friends are well-intended, but their hugs could kill. But, hey, at least I know they love to show their affection. Garnet was surprised about how slightly dark my song was.

She thought out loud, "Hm, this song is about somebody, isn't it?"

I opened up my guitar case to just stare at my bass out of—well, to say the least, shame of the worst kind. My pretty instrument painted dark blue with aqua wavy patterns was supposed to distract me. Garnet's question haunted me, though, as I nervously chewed my lip again. A chill went down my back.

I looked toward Paine, because she knew all about this. "It's about a guy at my school. His name is Riku Aoki and..."

It was too soon to talk about it, how I tried to push Riku away and how he didn't want me to. There was something in his eyes that night. Pain. Why did he want me to like him so much? Then again, I lied to myself when I told myself I had no feelings for him.

But, if I didn't talk about this story now to my best friends in the world, I would seriously regret hiding. It was already bad enough Sora seemed to blame me.

Clearing my throat, I admitted, "He's been nice to me ever since I moved to Kingston, and I've been so crappy to him. It's just...I thought he was a player, because he had his girlfriend Yuffie. But, he'd been looking at me. Well, I guess it's not like he ever cheated on her...but it was more like cheating with his heart. Anyway, I went to Kairi Iwasaki's Halloween party last night..."

"Oooh!" Rikku interrupted, trying not to jump up and down. "What did you go as?"

Paine and Garnet threw her dirty looks. My best friend especially looked like she would slit Rikku's throat before stuffing her into a shallow grave.

"Whoa, guys," I told them. "Don't burn a hole into poor Rikku's skull. I was Alice in Wonderland. So, I just wanted to be alone at one point. Then, he...the stupid idiot...he follows me outside. And that's when I was mean to him. I yelled at him for breaking up with Yuffie, and I really shouldn't have. After that...I told him I was sorry before running off."

I started sniffling after I called Riku a stupid idiot, so I obviously didn't mean that. There was a really awkward silence, one of those when you wish the soundtrack to your life would start blaring loudly. Paine finally said something.

"Whoa...at least you apologized. Even with that, I hope he doesn't hurt you any more."

I sighed, staring at my song lyrics and wondering if I made them too bitter. Riku didn't hurt me. I hurt myself by hurting him.

"Don't put this on Riku," I told all of them not just Paine. "It was all me."

Garnet picked up her mike, ready to practice. "Come on, Namine. Maybe if we get this song in, you'll feel better."

"Yeah, except for the headache from my drums," Rikku bragged.

Even Paine smiled very slightly. "I already got a rhythm in mind. Follow my lead, Blondie."

Not much to do at that point but follow their advice, I figured as I picked up my bass. True to her great idea, Paine had a very rad rhythm going. I followed.

And so, we jammed epicly while Garnet picked out a random, made-up tune to sing the song to. My work of pain went a little something like this.

"_You have no idea what you feel_

_When you have no idea what's real_

_You're living in dreams_

_Not everything there is what it seems_

_Can't tell me what to do_

_Can't tell me how to feel_

_Just walk away and let it be_

_You've already destroyed the best of me"_

Yeah, it sort of went on like that, with the "can't tell me what to do" part starting the chorus, which ended with the "best of me" part. Never mind, my song was only a rough draft with no title. Oh, how Paine scolded me for that! She is a writer extraordinaire and therefore knows all. With that aside, we still had a great jam session going until Garnet said she was parched. We dared not ruin that pretty little canary voice of hers, so we decided to quit for the day.

"'Sides, they've come out with this awesome mineral water that's so good," Paine told us before heading to the kitchen. She came back with bottles that had "Blizzarga" on the labels.

Rikku grinned like Christmas had come early, even though it was just bottled mineral water. Then again, the other three of us kept thinking about holding a crazy person intervention for her.

"I heard that stuff is good! Give me some of that."

I play smirked. "Sorry, Rikku, it has no sugar."

Garnet got in on the joke. "Nope, hope you can go without for about five minutes."

Rikku stuck out her tongue. "You bet. Now, hand it over, Paine."

Shrugging, Paine tossed the bottle over to her, and she chugged it down like it was nobody's business. For some reason, she shivered after drinking half the bottle.

"Oh yeah," Paine mentioned off-handedly. "It can apparently keep cold better than other waters."

Wow, this Blizzarga stuff must have contained something strong. It could be the water of the future easily, if it could keep cold for a while. But, Rikku acted like she had just swallowed liquid snow.

She rolled her greenish-blue eyes. "Yeesh, cold water should not exist."

I smiled and said I was up for it, drinking the cold water. Turned out it was better than I thought. So, _most _of us enjoyed our water, even Paine who usually dislikes mineral water with a passion. Does she hate everything? It might seem like it but no. We ate lunch up in the kitchen later, just hot dogs with our favorite condiments.

Then, I remembered I needed to talk to Sora about the Riku situation before he could get too angry at me. I mean, there was no way our previously bad sibling relationship was gonna resurface. The more people I had around me for moral support, the better my chances of getting over depression. And I needed to turn my life around, to make it better for myself.

"Hope you get better soon, Namine," Garnet said sweetly, referring to my emotional state.

"Thanks."

Paine, after Rikku strangled/hugged me, nodded at me. "You'll pull through this, Nam. Riku will forgive you. I'm not the relationship expert here, but I'm pretty sure."

Scaring my best friend in the process, I hugged her. Best friends are so awesome.

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**A/N: ****I personally feel like I'm not good at writing song lyrics, so I just had Namine call the song a rough draft. And sorry for wasting words on mineral water named after a KH spell (which I'm not sure I even spelled correctly). I was kind of in a block that day if I remember correctly.**

**So, yeah, I hoped you liked this chapter.**


	20. Fallouts without Boys or Dance, Dance

**A/N: Fallout, in this case, meaning what happened after the party at Namine's school. Also a play on words with a band I like very much: Fall Out Boy. I don't care if you think they're crappy or not, the chapter has nothing to do with that. XD So, read on.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Sorry it took forever to update again. I'm sadly going through a block.**

**Edit: I put up the wrong chapter. This is actually supposed to be chapter 20. Sorry for the inconvenience.**

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**Chapter 20: Fallouts without Boys (or Dance, Dance)**

We were back from Dad's after we briefly stopped at Pizza Hut to chow down on meat lover's pizza. If Xion would have seen us, she probably would have burst into tears. Good thing the hippie chick wasn't there, though I remembered something she once said about pizza.

"Veggie pizza is the best invention since the peace sign."

Yeah, she actually did say that. Oh God, I have weird friends. Anyway, I was actively reading the fourth Harry Potter book (I've been re-reading the series, can't you tell?) when Sora randomly walked in my room. The confrontation. Cue in dramatic music. I was expecting this, which would probably be him yelling at me for being stupid.

So, ready for the inevitable, I shut my eyes to maybe shut out the possible cuss words and sticking up for Riku that would come out. Instead, I just heard him sigh and fall back on one of my beanbag chairs. He sprawled out there without saying anything for a whole five minutes. Anxiously, I wondered when he was going to talk.

"Hey," he muttered.

I shrugged lopsidedly. "Hey yourself, bro."

"Hay is for horses."

"Yeah."

Wow, we were both acting like Captain Obvious, probably afraid to get into the big issue that was really on our minds. My fingers itched to reach toward the TV remote. If we didn't confide in each other, though, it could only get worse.

Sora messed with his hair spikes. "I won't put it off any more. I want to know what happened at the party. Riku told me you weren't acting yourself that night."

This was getting serious fast. "I should have known he would have told you. He had a right to be worried. I found out he broke up with Yuffie. And that made me crazy. I thought he might go around and willingly break girls' hearts."

"He's not like that," my brother told me firmly.

"I know that now. I just thought that at the time," I said sadly.

I think it's just a natural girl fear, wondering if guys are who they say they are. Because, let's face it, dudes can be worse liars than us girls at times. Not really in terms of actually telling the lie, but being a flat-out jerk—that's what I mean. Still, Paine had a point when she implied I was overreacting. I had probably gotten too involved with my confusion and teen angst to the point I snapped. I snapped at the wrong person.

"That's it? He broke up with Yuffie, you got mad and yelled at him, and hid upstairs?"

Now, Sora was just being stupid. Couldn't he understand how hard this was for me?

My emotionless mask was on, since I would have cried. "He said he liked me."

And I left it at that.

Lunch on Monday was awkward to say the least. I didn't know how it happened, but kids at the party managed to find out what happened between me and Riku. No one really took sides (amazingly), but the gossip was bad enough. Some said I slapped him in the face. Others said I just had a severe case of PMS, which was possible. Wakka from math class acted like an idiot and said he thought that Riku ticked me off by taking a machete out of his pocket to scare me with. You know, a Jason Vorhees thing. I rolled my eyes at him. OK, Wakka no longer had my potential friendship.

In fact, I flat-out told him, "Shut up, asshole. You don't know anything. By the way, if you think an argument is a joke, you're pretty frickin' sick."

Five minutes later, he begged me for answers to Thursday night's homework. I told him to get a tutor. So, as I was saying, lunch passed rather awkwardly. Selphie and Xion kept acting sympathetic and constantly asked if I was OK. With Selphie, I could expect this sort of thing. But, Xion forgot her head-in-the-clouds spirit and was grounded, truly there in the moment. Basically, she was serious, and it scared the crap out of me.

"Sister, sister, sister." She shook her head. "I know what you're going through. I mean, anger is a poison that corrupts a person's aura. Don't carry it inside."

I played with my school limp French fries. "You don't think I know that, Xi?"

Selph shot the hippie chick a look. "Don't make this any harder on her."

"Guys," I raised my voice slightly, trying to be heard above the cafeteria crowd. "You're acting like my parents. I'm fine. Promise."

"You know that My Chemical Romance song? Yeah, girl, you're practically living the lyrics right now. Or, at the very least, trying to convince us you're OK," Xion told me.

"I know that, but it's not like I write the songs!" I randomly shouted, making the punk/emo table (as much as I hate immature labels) glare at me.

"Don't trash our bands, random chick," one of them warned me.

I snapped again. "It's Namine Ayame Tasaki. Get it right, people! AND I AM IN NO WAY RELATED TO SORA! ARRRGGGHH!"

As I pitched my food tray and started to get the heck out of the cafeteria, I heard Selphie murmur to Xion, "She's feeling bad over the Riku incident, and you had to reference a song of all times. Good job."

Sure, sure, Xion loved to reference songs. As a hippie, music equaled life with her. But, that wasn't why I was upset. I valued my privacy, and I didn't like people asking what happened at that upsetting party. Everyone got up in my business. Oh, high school, not quite _Beverly Hills 90210_ but pretty close. Completely bummed out and worn out, I dropped down on a bench out in the foyer again. This...this wasn't good. Everything. The disappointment in Riku's eyes, my unreasonable anger, my hurt...

In my own pathetic way, I deeply regretted what I yelled at him. I knew I apologized to him at the time, but could "I'm sorry" make this all up? Honestly, I doubted it. Meantime, I noticed Vice Principal Ansem scolding Demyx while Zexion stood by.

"I've told you once, and I'll tell you this one last time," he said sternly. Even his lousy blond mustache looked mean. "The school steps are for walking—_not skateboarding_."

"Aw, come on, VP Ansem," Demyx entreated, turning his charm up a few notches. "I saw them do it on _Jackass_, so I figured—"

"I don't care if they do it on the Discovery Channel, it still breaks school rules."

Knowing how wrong that just sounded, Zexion snorted with laughter. I gotta admit, I was trying not to laugh myself. If VP Ansem listened to 90's music, he would know.

Demyx obviously fake grinned, scratching the back of his neck. "Gee, Mr. Ansem, I guess I'm getting a detention then."

Mr. Ansem's creepy amber eyes narrowed. "No, but this is your final warning. Hear me, Mr. Fujita? As for you, Mr. Fisher, as a contributor to our school newspaper, I would suggest for you to get better friends. Non-juvenile delinquent friends."

I could tell Zexion was using all his inhibitions not to chuckle. "I'll consider it, sir."

As the strict vice principal turned away from the two guys, he whispered to Dem, "Yeah right," before he bust out snickering. I giggled too, considering I needed to find humor in something today.

They heard me, and Demyx flashed a sly grin at me for getting in on the joke in my own way. Zexion punched his arm hard.

"You did it like they would on the Discovery Channel, Demyx," he quipped sarcastically, referring to Mr. Ansem's scolding. The taller teen couldn't take it any more, because he laughed so hard, a group of freshmen stared at him strangely. Standing up from the bench, I patted each on their shoulders and assured them they made the best jokes ever.

"I'm just trying to be like Axel, Nam," Demyx said confidently. "He said those jokes before anybody."

I grinned. "Doubt that but OK."

Zexion shook his head in disbelief, probably thinking about the lengths Mr. Ansem went to enforce school rules.

"First thing you have to know about Kangaroo High's vice principal, Namine Tasaki, is that he's a creep. He goes around stalking students just to catch them in the act."

I liked how he called our school Kangaroo High with such cynicism. He could be a comedian one of these days. Still, did Mr. Ansem seriously...?

"Literally stalking?" I asked.

Dem chuckled. "Nope, or he would have gotten restraining orders _ages _ago."

We all shared a good laugh before Zexion looked pointedly at me. Of course. He was Riku's best friend. But, the weird thing was, he wasn't hanging with him and Demyx today. I soon knew why.

Making sure the musician guy wasn't listening in on our talk, Zexion whispered to me, "I suppose you know Riku is my best friend, don't you?"

I nodded. I had seen those two idly chatting in the halls together. They were practically brothers.

"Well, as his best friend, I do get worried about him every now and then. This is one of those times. Apparently, you were upset with him at the Halloween party. And...he's been taking it kind of hard. In fact, as we speak, he's at Mickey D's by himself, eating their crappy fries."

Ironic, considering I nibbled on crappy fries five minutes ago. Wow, though, sounded like the poor kid was trying to torture himself. No way. Guys usually didn't care what girls thought of them.

I felt bad for Riku. Not even my anger (or the poison in my aura as Xion so charmingly called it) could prevent me from feeling like crap. Maybe this was my gut's way of saying that he was for real and wasn't as fake as I made him out to be. My regret was almost too much to handle. How could I face him despite my apology?

I jutted my chin out. "Since you're Riku's best friend, feel free to punch me in the face."

"I'll decline that offer, thanks. Besides, you're confused. Girls are just as bad as us guys when it comes to that. I can tell you need to organize your feelings."

"OK, I'll put them in a filing cabinet in my brain somewhere."

Personally, not one of my best jokes, but Zexion smirked out of amusement anyway. At least he was like Riku in the sense he was willing to laugh at my lame humor.

He nodded. "Even though this isn't under the best of circumstances, I like you, Tasaki. Except your emotions, you seem to have your priorities in order."

"Thanks," I said awkwardly. "I think..."

"My brand of complimenting. Be flattered."

I shrugged, thinking what the heck? "Flattered."

"Well, I'll see you at lunch tomorrow, and Demyx will see you in French."

Waving goodbye to him, I decided I needed to go back to my friends before they started playing the blame game. Selphie seemed to be too defensive over me.

I found out it was all good. Selphie and Xion were still friends. Unfortunately, art class came, and that was when I started getting scared. Riku would definitely give me dirty looks for sure. I was the "b" word, the one thing I never wanted to be. So, in the first five minutes of art, I found out that Miss Gainsborough had given the OK for Yuffie to move to the back. Roxas told me why.

"She knew she wouldn't be able to focus with...you know," he whispered, taking extra care not to peek over at Riku. "That must be the case, because Miss Gainsborough normally doesn't do that. No teacher usually does that unless it's serious."

I hoped Yuffie wasn't too angry with him. As for me, I might as well have punished him.

Today, we had to create reflection drawings, but I was almost too distracted by something to draw well. I knew it had to be a certain pair of pretty eyes. Ashamed of myself, though, I refused to peek through my hair at him. After a while, I still felt like I was being watched by him. Not knowing whether the stare was well-intended or not, I would talk anyway.

Twiddling with my pencil, I admitted, "Look, I was...in a...I was crazy Friday night. I'm sorry. I know you hate me, so it's OK. I hate me right now."

"No," Riku murmured. "No, I don't hate you."

Ugh, for some reason, I wanted to cry again. I wiped my eyes as I looked over at him.

He had this...vaguely warm expression on his face, as though he had forgiven me for everything. And I genuinely believed that. Pretty eyes don't lie.

"Thanks." I smiled.

Unfortunately, he didn't smile back. "No problem."

Then again, there could have been a number of reasons why he didn't react. No thanks to good ole inferiority complex, though, I blamed it on myself. What I thought was a chance at redemption was totally blown. Yuffie mouthed, "It's OK," when she noticed I was sad. I had checked on her during the last ten minutes to see if she was holding up all right. However, I didn't feel his eyes on me for the rest of the time. When the bell rang, I spoke to him again.

My voice shaking, I informed him, "You know, if you hated me, you could have just said so."

Off I went.

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**A/N: ****Hm, sounds like Namine is experiencing a bad case of self-doubt. I hoped you also enjoyed Demyx and Zexion being in this chapter. And no, they're not gay in this one, yaoi fans, so don't hold your breath. But, yeah, the song reference itself I thought of and pray to God that I don't get sued. I won't, though, because I refuse to use actual lyrics. But, never mind about that.**

**Please review if you want to.**


	21. Namine's Birthday

**A/N: Ah, the birthday chapter. Filled with random things, angst not being one of them this time, thank God. Sorry it's been a while. Here it is.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

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**Chapter 21: Namine's Birthday**

I told Selph and Xi about a week later that my birthday was coming up, in four days to be exact. They freaked.

"Oh my God, why didn't you tell us sooner? I want to pick out a present for you! And I'll know just the thing, too," Selphie ranted excitedly, clacking her nails together.

Even Xion was positively giddy. "Oh, I'll know what to get you, too. You're going to have the best birthday ever, Namine. Are you gonna have a party?"

I shook my head. "No, not planning on it—maybe when I'm sixteen."

Another thing about almost fifteen-year-olds: they can't wait until they're sixteen, the age that matters. Years before don't matter, because you don't have basic rights yet.

Yes, November 12th, my birthday, and I hate having been born in the fall. It's such an ugly season with brown crumbly leaves falling, dying flowers, and cool temperatures. However, I guess my personality fits my birthdate, considering I'm an emotional Scorpio. Whereas Sora, having been born in January, is a cheerful, fun-loving Capricorn. Yeah, good for him. I'm just like Xion, though, buying too much into this whole astrology thing. While she and Selphie thought over the perfect presents for me, I lived my boring life at school. Thank God that at this point, gossip over Kairi's party had died down. You're only as good as your latest mistake around here.

Luckily, I was getting a better grade in math, thanks to Marluxia's math geekiness. He's been a fairly good tutor. Larxene could even help too, occasionally, whenever she popped up. They're seniors—they'd better be good at math. Other than that, my social life went on at a more subdued pace. I mean (and I would hate to admit that the considerably cooled relations between Riku and me had something to do with it), I was way less talkative. Axel noticed in study hall.

"You holding up all right, freshie?" he asked, peering over the library copy of _Desperation_.

I worked on my lousy grammar homework. Screw the English language. Anyway, I looked up from it and replied tonelessly, "Mmm-hmm."

"Doesn't look like it. And don't tell me you're one of those workaholics who are _insane _when they're depressed."

Good point. T-minus sixty-seven hours until my birthday, and I was bummed out because Riku had barely said two words to me that whole week so far. He blushed slightly whenever he did stare at me but still. Ugh, I couldn't believe I was turning into one of _those girls_. You know, the type that cries just because a guy doesn't like her. Then again, maybe it's in chick nature or something. Don't we all like to be accepted in some form or another?

"OK, maybe I can be one of those crazy workaholics. So?"

Axel had this scary serious expression on his face. "Look, if it's about Riku, don't get yourself so worked up. We guys...We just ain't worth it sometimes."

That may be true, but I knew my good guy friend only said that to make me feel better, not because Riku wasn't worth it. At the very least, though, he wasn't worth any more pain or any more tears. I doubted he would wish anything bad on me, especially not misery. Even though he wasn't talking much, I should have known that he was just shy. Right?

"I guess you're right, Axel. It's not that Riku's bad or anything. I've just been too emotional. Besides, my birthday's coming up real soon."

"Really?" He grinned. "Well, then you better get better, huh?"

I chuckled before sneaking a glance at Mr. Xemnas, who was on the last pages of _Twilight_.

Yuna smiled happily as she read the last book in the series. By the way, she's been the stupid, ditzy girl who's read the "saga" about twenty times now. Sad. But, before any of you fans attack me, I'll switch subjects. Axel held his thumb up at Mr. Xemnas.

"Mr. X, you're almost done. Congrats, man."

Mr. Xemnas didn't respond to that, but he randomly yelled, "Yes!" as soon as he finished the book. All of us except Yuna applauded him for accomplishing such a hard task. Being a little too enthusiastic, Axel was actually shouting. Almost slumping in his seat, Mr. Xemnas tossed the book on his desk as though it might bite him.

Closing his eyes, he said more calmly, "If it was legal, I would burn this miserable excuse for a book. There was no action, Mr. Iwasaki, you were right."

My redheaded friend nodded to say yeah, he knew he was right in a rather cocky way. Then, he put on those shades again, even though November was as rainy and crappy as usual so far. He gave Mr. Xemnas a salute.

"Stephen King books, Mr. X, Stephen King books."

"I prefer Dean Koontz, Mr. Iwasaki."

He spluttered (Axel anyway), and I laughed since I actually liked both writers. Though, I gotta say, I thought King had more of an upper hand. So, I guess study hall cheered me up, because it was funny how Mr. Xemnas always contradicted Axel. The rest of my day, of course, was more crappy homework and finally more talking from me.

Riku looked at me in art again, but I found myself too freaked out on the inside to make small talk with him. Instead, I used the Hair Curtain Maneuver, famous among many kids my age. Now you see my face, now you don't. God, what a cliché, but it's one I love. Maybe I love it too much. Apparently, Yuffie must have thought so too, because she called, "Wait up!" before I could prepare for my daily P.E. slaughtering.

She seemed cheerful today, her grin as huge as the Cheshire Cat's. "I have to talk to you about Riku. I know you're trying to distance yourself, but believe me, don't."

I raised a skeptical brow. "And _why _shouldn't I?"

She flipped back strands of her short flyaway black hair mixed with a neon green this week. Obviously, she put in different colored streaks whenever she felt like it.

"He's not bad, OK? At least he had the decency to tell me the truth when we broke up. I mean, sure, I got mad at first. But, I'm not someone who takes rejection well. Hey, though, we ended up being amicable. So, don't get pissed off at him. He's just a shy, sweet guy who's trying to look for the right girl. OK?"

Yuffie explained this all to me very fast to the point she was out of breath. Still a little unsure about why she would say how awesome he was, I played with my hair awkwardly.

I let out a sigh. "That's great and all, but he might not want too much to do—"

"He does," Yuffie interrupted. "His heart is in the right place, that kid. Just think it over."

I did think over what she said a little bit, though was still confused why she wasn't bashing Riku like crazy. As bitter as it sounded, I could sadly picture myself doing that. And I was paranoid enough to believe that wherever I went, I would notice somebody coming up to me and telling me how rotten a person I was. Because, basically, I felt like I deserved that horrible crap. When I rode home on the bus with Sora, I soon forgot my freshman troubles to focus on my b-day.

"Olive Garden," he flatly told me. "That's where we're taking you to celebrate."

I snorted. "Mom wouldn't tell me where she's taking me for my birthday."

Sora looked bummed out. "True. But, hey, wouldn't Olive Garden be great?"

Ever since Mom took us the week before out to eat at Olive Garden, Sora became virtually obsessed with the place. Italian food tastes rad, that's for sure. But, wow, I couldn't believe how much my brother ate while we were there.

In my true sarcastic nature, I suggested, "Or we could go to Chuck-E-Cheeze."

"What?" Sora started snickering. "What? Ri—I mean, the kid with the R name told me their pizza tastes like cardboard."

Due to our confrontation, he had made sure not to even mention Riku's name, which was pretty extreme. I doubted I was that sensitive to the Halloween party thing any more.

Besides, I could sense my brother and...well, that one guy were becoming close friends, despite the clearly different social groups. But, I was secretly glad that that didn't matter to either of them. Anyway, I wondered, what the heck had Riku been doing at a Chuck-E-Cheeze?

Once I asked that, Sora's eyes got brighter. "Oh, that. Well, it was his little sister's birthday party back in August. Obviously, their age difference is bigger than the one with you and me."

Cute, actually, but my pride refused to let me confess the truth. Though I always thought that Chuck-E-Cheeze pizza would taste nasty. That's right, I've never been to one. My childhood wasn't that sheltered, but that place was just one of those things I missed out on. Sure, I have high school issues to worry about now, but I'll always have Mom and Sora to rely on in this city.

I grinned as I looked out the window. "No Hannah Montana cake this year, Sora. That prank wasn't cool."

* * *

On the morning of my birthday, I woke up happy for once. Fifteen. A year to go until I was sixteen—now, that was encouraging. Naturally, there were bound to be surprises. I smelled some actual cooking downstairs, which made me quickly dress and run down the stairs to find out what was going on. It was...Mom, flipping pancakes that didn't even look close to burning! Was I dreaming?

"I called your dad last night," she admitted. "He told me the, um, secret for cooking half-decent pancakes. Didn't know there was one, but it's working."

She really cooked for me on my birthday. I guess she really was dead set on improving our relationship. Not to mention I wouldn't have to worry about being that one girl off _Sixteen Candles_.

To her surprise as well as mine, I hugged her from behind like I used to when I was about six years old or so. My fifteenth birthday was off to a great start.

"You're lightening up, Mom. I like it. So, are you gonna let me have a cat in the house some time?" I asked, taking time to smell the chocolate chip aroma.

Mom smiled wryly, so I wasn't sure if she planned to ease up any more. "We'll see."

With other parents, that means yes. With my mother, it's hard to tell. Anyway, Sora got up five minutes later for the same reason as me: the smell of not-dream cooking. Better yet, the pancakes tasted as good as they smelled. The chocolate flavor was in my mouth for a good part of the day.

Sure enough, at lunchtime, Xion and Selphie came to our table bearing gifts, perfectly wrapped. I tore the paper as fast as I did in the old days. Xion, big surprise, had bought incense candles for me with one being lavender scented and the other rosemary.

"Thanks, hippie chick," I kind of joked, though rather enjoyed the smell of the wax. Next, I opened Selph's gift, which was a red leather photo album for my own personal use. Actually, I had never owned one before, so I was really flattered. I hugged both my friends after looking at my presents.

I smiled. "Aw, you guys are too awesome. You didn't have to do this for me."

"Exactly, that's why we did it," Selphie pointed out. "Oh, and Namine, stop by my house after school. I actually have another present for you there."

While wondering what this second present could possibly be, Pence, Olette, and Hayner came over toward us to wish me a happy birthday. Throw my modesty out the window. Basically, I told most of my friends my birthday, and I was having an awesome day because of it. Pretty much everyone I knew from Zexion to Axel to Kairi wished me happy birthday.

"So, any big plans?" Pence asked me. "Going to Chuck-E-Cheeze?"

Olette wrinkled her nose. "I doubt they're going to a place with nasty pizza, Pence."

"Yeah, but their arcade games are pretty cool," Hayner remarked casually.

The rest of the day at school went pretty well. I was the happiest that I had ever been than on past birthdays. It started out great, so it would end on amazing. I was sure of it.

What topped it off was what happened in art class, which started out routinely. I was watercolor painting my reflection sketch as Riku quietly and creatively used bold markers on his. No wonder he said he preferred comic book style art. His piece of work proved that and more. By that, it proved he had a very intelligent, artistic mind.

And there was something about the way his long yet elegant fingers held a pencil or marker...

I didn't even know I was watching him when he peered over at me and smiled slightly. Yeesh, seemed like he knew how to make me blush, too.

"Happy birthday today, Namine," he politely told me. "Sora told me about it."

Once I thought about it, he was a sweet guy, too. How could I have ever been randomly mad at him? No way had he deserved that crap from me. Best of all, he spoke more than two words to me, a sign that he was getting used to the real me. I hadn't fully opened up yet, though, but I planned to after this.

I smiled eagerly back at him. "Thanks."

It was a short exchange of words that resulted in us getting back to work soon after, but I felt something. A heart palpitation maybe...or emotions that no longer needed to be so suppressed. For that matter, I shouldn't have been that cold to Riku to begin with. From here on out, I would follow my instincts as well as my heart. Realizing this as I walked to Selphie's house after school made me in a beyond good mood.

My über happiness must have been obvious, because Selphie grinned back at me when she answered my knock. "I guess you're really having a happy birthday, huh?"

"Yeah, I owe that to some guy," I said in a sort of aloof way, but I was still grinning.

"Well, it's about to get a whole lot better, Nami. Come in, I have to give you this present."

I thought it was weird Selphie would give me _two _presents instead of just one, considering this was my first year in Kingston. But, there is such a thing as becoming fast friends with somebody. I just wondered what this present was that she couldn't hand over to me at school. Unless...No way, though, she couldn't have possibly...

I heard mewing—it was practically unmistakable.

Several questions popped into my mind, one of which was "Was Mom going to kill me for this?" After all, I definitely heard mewing, so I obviously got a cat. Selphie sneaked into the kitchen to retrieve a cute kitten.

"I'm lucky the neighbor's cat gave birth a week ago. Kind of convenient in a weird way, because I knew you always wanted a kitty," she told me, scratching the kitten behind the ears. He looked so sweet, short black hair and luminous yellow eyes.

I guessed what breed it was. "Bombay, right?"

"I think so. It's a boy, in case you didn't know."

I couldn't stop "awwwing" at the kitten as my friend let me hold him. And that cute little guy looked up at me to meow. I even made smooching noises at him. Selphie grinned.

"I'll keep him here until you guys get cat supplies. That might take a couple weeks. It won't matter—I mean, we have a cat, too...named Snickers."

I laughed. What a name for a cat! Speaking of which, I thought about what I wanted to name mine. Hmm...

"Jiji," I muttered. "Like Jiji off _Kiki's Delivery Service_. That'll be the name."

Selphie nodded in agreement. "Cool name, especially with him. He looks anime-ish."

A cat...a real cat like I always wanted. It felt great to finally receive one for my birthday.

I had to plead my case before Judge Mom, and I figured it might be difficult. But, this was one of those first steps for her to loosen up as a parent. True, she could still be an effective parent while being a sort of friend. Once she came home, I told her about how Selphie went to the trouble of getting a kitten for me.

"So, can I keep him? Please?" I begged a little, but I needed to convince her.

Mom was unsure, pacing up and down the living room to think it over. I think she was caving, because she might have realized her OCD was way out of control.

"Why did Selphie get you a cat for your birthday anyway?" she asked.

I shrugged. "I wasn't actually expecting her or Xion to get me presents. They're good friends."

Sora wasn't really a cat person, though one look at him, I could tell that he at the very least wanted a pet in the house again. The last time we had a pet, it was before the divorce. Yep, that long ago. I had Mom cornered, though.

She sighed, "Oh, all right, but you're responsible for it. Besides, it's your birthday, and I'd hate to ruin it by telling you no."

"I knew it!" Sora bragged, his grin gigantic and with his pearly white teeth.

Mom just laughed slightly. "I've been an OCD freak for too long, you two."

This was officially the best birthday I really ever had, ever since age nine.

As you might understand by now, it was birthday tradition to be taken out to dinner, despite all the take-out food we eat.

"So, instead of surprising you this year, you pick the place, Namine," Mom told me.

I thought it over briefly, pondering the possibilities. McDonald's wasn't exactly celebratory food except maybe for little kids. DQ brought back bad memories. And then, I stared at Sora for a few seconds. He was silently begging me to pick a certain place.

"Olive Garden," I said before asking Sora, "By the way, what cake did you pick out for me with Mom?"

"Specialty cake—picture of a beach to remind you of home."

"Then, after dinner, we go to the bookstore," I declared with a smile while my brother groaned.

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**A/N: ****I know it's really cliche of me to have Namine's fictional birthday be on the same month as mine but oh well. For some reason, I started this banter between Axel and Xemnas to amuse myself. It's just gone on from there. You'll find later in the story, though, that Xemnas comes to be of some help. But, let's cross that bridge when we come to it.**

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter. And yes, I know my cat breeds. In fact, when I saw them talking about Bombay cats on Animal Planet, I knew I wanted one someday.**


	22. Thanksgiving with Mr Random Dude

**A/N: In which the identity of Namine's mom's boyfriend is finally revealed. And random crap happens. But, you're probably expecting that anyway. XD**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

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**Chapter 22: Thanksgiving with Mr. Random Dude**

"Um, la-la-lum, um," Xion made supposedly meditative sounds as she was in a yoga position with a how-to book in front of her. She sat cross-legged on our cafeteria table, trying to attain inner balance or something. I don't know; I never got into that yoga stuff.

Selphie and I just gave her the weirdest looks in the world. Half the stuff Xion did in public was pretty bold. I mean, I couldn't believe how little shame she had. Currently, she tried to place one leg behind her head before we heard a popping noise.

"Ouch!" She winced, flipped the page, and tried out another position.

Without the drugs, she embodied the hippie spirit and lifestyle. It was honestly quite impressive to witness. Too bad that Mr. Harrison aka Principal Fatty aka The Warden showed up to be a party pooper. He glared at her.

"Miss Summer, the cafeteria tables are not to be used for meditating!" he scolded before catching Seifer and his friends trying to toilet paper freshmen.

"Hey, hey! Ger back here!" he yelled at them, chasing and panting at the same time.

I shook my head at Principal Fatty while Xion grumpily slammed her book closed and clambered back to her seat.

She commented while pointing at Harrison, "See? The Man ruins everything!"

From what Selphie and I understand, Xion couldn't tolerate any sort of government. Selphie even told me one time in seventh grade, the resident hippie chick tried staging a hunger strike after a student council member made fun of her...um, heritage. Also, that same member got re-elected, and Xion thought that was wrong. So, to say the least, she is a girl who's willing to go to extremes.

To humor her, Selph suggested, "How about you start a protest then?"

"Can't." Xion stuck out her lip in a pout. "I'll get suspended, and my mom dropped out of high school. She'll want The Man to brainwash me."

"Yeah, but it's only 'cause you'll need a job someday," I told her.

She sighed. "You're right, I'm taking the hippie thing too seriously."

Once she said that, Selphie and I shook our heads furiously. The hippie chick part of Xion (roughly 98.8% of her) was her entire personality pretty much. Only thing was, we didn't want her arrested for tax evasion when she was in her twenties. We explained all this to her in great detail before she hushed us.

"Guys, relax, that was something I said off the top of my head. So, Thanksgiving plans?"

Oh. That was about a week away—actually, five days away. The day before, Mom announced that she was introducing us to Mr. Random Dude (the guy she's been dating since September) on Thanksgiving. That was when I thought what pranks to pull on him. I gave up when I had no ideas in mind. Besides, meet him first, prank him later. Rad plan.

I shoved some cafeteria cold pizza in my mouth. "I guess I'm going to have to teach Mom to cook again. On the other hand...it should be pretty much in her system by now, like she could cook on auto-pilot or something. Oh, and Sora and I are meeting her boyfriend for the first time. If he's a lawyer..."

"What's wrong with lawyers?" Selphie inquired of me.

"Oh, lemme see. Too rich, too uptight, too Percy Weasley from _Order of the Phoenix_."

Xion jumped up on the cafeteria table. "Nerd reference for the win!"

After she quickly got down, I started laughing hysterically. I was practically crying.

Selphie patted her hair randomly before telling us her plans. "Well, we're going to have a get-together down at Grandma's, sort of a family reunion."

"And you all get matching, knitted sweaters," I said cynically, making Xion and even Selphie herself laugh. Seriously, coming from divorced parents as well as one messed-up family in general (feud included), I knew that I did not live with Bradys or Cleavers. It was something I'd gotten used to, no mushy-gushy stuff from my relatives—only money, always the money. Xion looked proud talking about her typical Thanksgiving.

"Well, this year we're going to have organic stuffing with stewed vegetables and portabella mushrooms as the main dish."

My eyes were wide. "You guys sure take the vegan-ness to the edge."

Xion then told me her dad would be eating leftover turkey from her grandma, so he wouldn't have to be tortured by hardcore vegans. OK, then, I guess somebody had to have the atypical Thanksgiving, us included. The days leading up to Thanksgiving break were very boring to the point I couldn't wait to get out of school for a bit. My social life, though, was alive and well. I still felt nervous about talking to Riku, but I gradually relaxed around him. It was a slow process. It's just...How do you go from being unreasonably cool to somebody to trying to be friends with them? Honestly, I had trouble figuring that out.

Meantime, though, I had to be of help to Mom once break started.

Eight o' clock in the morning, Thursday of course. Mom nudged my shoulder to wake me up. I thought it was the giant squid in the lake, because yes, I was having yet another Hogwarts dream.

"Guys," I groaned, referring to the three main HP characters. "Use some spell to blow this thing out of the water."

Sadly, my mother resorted to lightly smacking me upside the head, getting me alert instantly.

Slowly opening my eyes, I muttered, "You know, any more, Child Protective Services interferes with that sort of thing."

"Those guys can kiss my ass," Mom bluntly said, glaring out the window as though an official suddenly came here ninja-style. "Sorry about that, Namine. You need to help me today."

Take me back to Hogwarts, mind! I'd rather be there than the suffocating confines of suburbia. I rolled almost out of bed.

"At this ungodly hour of the morning? Sora's probably still asleep, because _it's break_!"

She sighed and patted my head reassuringly. "Believe me, this requires more of a female touch. Besides, Sora's up already."

"Texting people?"

"Well, yes...Anyway, Namine, please do this for me. Our visitor is going to be here around 12:30, and there's so much food to cook."

I muttered cuss words under my breath after Mom left me so I could get dressed. This better be good. And I could care less about Mr. Random Dude and his plot to ruin our lives.

Much to my relief, Mom wasn't totally clueless about dinner preparations; she had already put the turkey in the oven. Whew, step one completed. However, she had all these other ingredients out for what might as well be a feast. As Bart Simpson once said, "Ay caramba."

I smacked my forehead. "Mom, let's assess the situation here. What all are you planning to make?"

"Well, there's stuffing, cranberry sauce, deviled eggs, mashed potatoes, yams, corn, green beans, biscuits—"

"Whoa, whoa, Mom, you're making me nervous! I only took home ec last year." I bit my lip, overwhelmed at the many possible dishes. "Look, we can do without those except the stuffing, deviled eggs, and mashed potatoes. And Sora and I hate cranberry sauce."

Mom bit her lip too, but she also started playing with her hair. Wow, hers was probably the scariest, worst case of psychological regression ever. Then again, she must have been nervous for what her boyfriend thought of our house and her cooking. She was absolutely terrified of what he might say. Unfortunately, she chose a bad time to act like this.

Finally, she let out a breath. "OK, OK, but the biscuits..."

"What's stopping him from bringing food? You know, like a pot luck deal? Look, men are way easy to please. No gourmet for them, just meat and potatoes. That's what Dad told me."

"Well...your dad is good at cooking. Just help me please. Be my sous chef?"

Don't tell me she was watching Food Network now. Oh well, there was nothing wrong with that channel. Ready to be the calm one, I rolled up my sleeves.

"Right, deviled eggs first, then stuffing, and potatoes. Sora might be able to help, too."

"No can do!" I heard a voice shout from the living room. "Macy's Day Parade is on!"

I shook my head in disbelief. "Boys."

So, I used what little experience I had, limited to home ec and what Dad taught me, to help her. At first, I thought it was going to be a massive, Category 1o disaster of a job. But, as I assisted and took charge at the same time, I began to enjoy this. Cooking with Mom was honestly, really...fun. As scary as it sounded, I liked the quality time I spent with her. Once I took a break, I went to the living room.

Even though Sora preferred watching the Thanksgiving parade to cooking, he looked very bored, and he was on the verge of channel surfing.

"What? Realized that the parade has the same crap every year?" I asked him, plopping down on the sofa.

"Yeah...same floats, same marching band stuff, same crappy pop stars..."

I grinned. "Well, Avenged Sevenfold isn't exactly a parade band, is it?"

"No."

"See? Besides, these things are overrated." So, I went to change the channel...

"Potatoes, Namine!"

I groaned but did as I was commanded by helping prepare the potatoes and warm the gravy on the stove. T-minus an hour now until Mr. Random Dude showed up. At least we weren't doing this at night, or it would have been way worse.

Shaking my head, I told her, "Good thing this isn't _Top Chef_, or I'd be freaking."

Mom laughed slightly. "That's true. Only thing left to do is have L—"

The doorbell rang—Mom and I exchanged panicked glances.

"No need to worry, Namine, I'll answer it."

Her worry must have rubbed off on me, because I felt like I got a heart attack.

Jiji, the kitten that we finally took home from Selphie's, darted into the kitchen and rubbed up against my leg. I smiled at his cuteness.

"Not now, Jiji, go poop or something. Litter box is over there."

Meanwhile, I overheard Mom greet a guy who must have been her boyfriend. After taking the gravy off the stove, I sneaked over to near the living room for more eavesdropping.

I was surprised to hear Mr. Random Dude speak in a British accent. "Don't worry about a thing, Renee, I brought over Mum's homemade crump—I mean biscuits— and pumpkin pie. Sure, I had to pay a steep amount for shipping and handling, but it's fine."

Wow, no one but Dad or Grandma Ronnie called Mom Renee. It was incredible, because I wasn't used to hearing her first name. And why was this dude British?

To distract myself, I then took the mashed potatoes off the stove to dump them into a serving dish. Ten minutes later, Sora and I discovered the identity of Mr. Random Dude at last. Mom had kept him hidden away long enough by the door. I guess she wanted to surprise us, like he was a new pet or something. Technically, not so sure about that. We sat down around the table with not much food on it but enough to make us happy. I played with my fork when I saw Mom and the guy walk in. He kind of looked strange yet cool at the same time. His blond hair was cut very short with a matching trimmed beard. He wore black jeans and a gray T-shirt and also had pierced ears with diamond studs. He waved hi to us. We waved hi back. Hi, stranger.

"Meet Luxord," Mom told us, looking at the turkey unsurely since she had no idea how to carve one. In fact, I could see her blushing from the humiliation.

Luxord noticed. "Need help with that bird?"

"Yeah, it's been a while since we've had a proper Thanksgiving. Mt ex-husband..."

I gave her a warning look that basically said don't talk about Dad in front of _him_. Like I said before, he would never be Replacement Dad. Not unless he valued his limbs.

Then, I got all friendly. "I'm Namine, and this is Sora."

Sora waved cheesily. "So, Luxord, are you really British?"

Good point, bro, Lux could easily be faking the accent to come off as charming. And that would be before he had access to Mom's bank account... Too much Lifetime Network can kill you.

Luxord didn't flinch but chuckled. "Yes, Sora, I'm from Northampton, just a few miles north of London. I came to America to go to college at NYU."

Argh, not my dream school! I couldn't help but be jealous of the guy. For those of you not that familiar with it, NYU definitely specializes in the arts.

Still pretending to be nice, I asked through gritted teeth, "So, what's your job?"

"I'm a professional photographer."

Photography, that's not a real job. All you do is snap pics of random stuff. However, I was real jealous.

After Luxord carved up the turkey, we all had a conversation among ourselves. I was still unsure what I thought of him. I mean, I wanted to hate him for trying to impress my mom with his lame jokes that were sort of funny. On the other hand, he was nice and liked the same music as Sora and me. Then again, Britain was the birthplace of The Beatles. God, I really didn't want to despise him. Plus, his mom's biscuits were very good. They melted in my mouth like buttery things are supposed to.

"These biscuits are pretty good," Sora remarked.

Luxord grinned lazily. "Thank you, Sora. In Britain, though, we call cookies biscuits sometimes. It usually depends if they're like ginger snaps or not, for example."

That was weird. It seemed that England was sort of a backwards land yet not really. However, I love British cuss words. I saw them in Harry Potter books. So, I assumed that was when Luxord held back saying crumpets, since he was in America. I also wondered how his mom knew to bake pumpkin pie.

"I know Thanksgiving's strictly American. The Detroit Lions always lose their games, we have big floats, and we're all sleepy after eating this turkey. How'd your mom know how to bake pumpkin pie?" I was genuinely curious.

Mom calmly nodded as she ate some stuffing. "Yes, Namine asked a good question there."

Did Luxord think I was tricking him with this question? If so, it could have been exactly the case, because he thought over this. His amber eyes glazed over.

Then, in that light British accent, he answered, "Well, Mum has been reading up on American recipes ever since I attended NYU. I ate my first Thanksgiving meal at an American friend's house. And I absolutely _adored _pumpkin pie. So, Mum got the recipe, and she's been making it for a good ten years."

I checked it for poison before I tried it. Don't know why I had—it tasted delicious, especially with a dollop of Cool Whip. Hm, British people can learn to cook American food. I found myself eating two slices of it. I mean, yum!

Slowly, I smiled. "Thanks for the pie, Luxord."

Mom seemed to approve of my polite thank you to her boyfriend. I hoped that, whatever happened, she could be the great mom I knew she was capable of being. Even though I was gradually liking Luxord OK, I wondered if he would end up marrying her or not. Yeesh, she had us meet him on Thanksgiving! Things must have been getting serious. How could he be a good stepdad? Worst of all, I wasn't sure I wanted to prank him now! He already won over Sora. As for me, I would prove I wasn't that easy to be won over. Luxord had a fair start so far, but I needed slightly more impressing. My friends initially had to fight tooth and nail to gain my trust. I'm not an easy person. For some reason, I had this nagging feeling that Luxord knew that, too.

By the time we finished up eating, Sora decided to get into an avid discussion with Luxord about football, mainly high school football. The blond guy nodded and said encouraging things when he was supposed to. I spoke very little to former Mr. Random Dude overall. I worried that he just would not be in the picture very long, and Mom might have wasted her time in bringing him here. My whole personality had to be earned by somebody before I randomly opened up. However, this was a better Thanksgiving than in the past, when Mom just got Chinese chicken.

As we told Mr. Myers (Luxord's last name) goodbye, he shook Sora's hand and mine.

"Namine," he quietly said to me as he good-naturedly patted me on the shoulder, "I intend on being serious with your mum. I don't think I've met a girl like her, honestly."

He smiled up at her, and she returned it sweetly. I guess I could get used to this.

Luxord then finished talking to me. "And you kids are not a turn-off by any means. Never understood why bachelors are so terrified to date single mums."

I grinned. "Yeah, I don't know. Men are cowards sometimes."

"Well, I will see you and Sora another time, I hope."

And as he hopped in his Honda, I realized that all British guys are awesome.

He still had a way to go though, quite a way.

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**A/N: ****For some reason, I could see Luxord in this part. Weird, I know. I decided to have him British, obviously, because I thought it would be overkill OOC if he wasn't. Hm, the most fun part of writing the chapter, for me, had to be when Xion got irritated with the principal. With her being crazy, I'm thinking you guys weren't surprised by that.**

**As usual, review if you feel like it. XD**


	23. Trust

**A/N: Sorry about any language in this chapter. It's probably because it's just me being brutally honest in my work. I guess. I was going to update yesterday but completely forgot. Sorry. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

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**Chapter 23: Trust**

I always hate the beginning of December. Or, I used to not hate it, but I do now. See, Destiny is a nice coastal town that doesn't experience freezing cold temperatures in winter for some reason. Must be because of the beach. Well, who knew twenty minutes inland could make a difference? By very early December, the first inch of snow fell in Kingston, and kids were going nuts. They couldn't wait until more snow came. All I could do was shake my head in disbelief, even though Pence tried to convince me otherwise.

While he helped me with grammar, he mentioned, "Man, I can't wait for some snowball fights."

Oh, that sounded fun—not. "Snowball fights?"

"Yeah, Namine, though we can't do them on school grounds. Damn Mr. Ansem..."

I grinned at that, but I refused to get myself involved with winter "fun." What was so fun about a season totally lifeless and dead? Blame it on my former depression, I hated cold and wet and boring. Paintings make winter out to be so pretty. Where's the pretty? It made me restless. While I noticed Sora and Kairi taking strolls outside for lunch, I sat indoors with Selphie and Xion. Xion especially knew what I was going through.

"I know, sister, winter makes the good vibes die for a while. No flowers, no green vegetation, no life. Winter is a hippie's worst enemy, right after The Man," she told me.

At home, things were going OK, I suppose. As he promised, Luxord came over more to pal around with us. He taught us British culture, and we the kids had him watch American flicks. Of course, he could watch them in England but whatever. Movies brought us together, so Mom would join us, too. I had to hand it to her, she had a great, unique taste in guys.

Mm, speaking of guys...

Riku was getting to be an all right guy to me. We talked about such ordinary stuff, though, so there was no way you could venture to call us friends. Maybe we were scared of each other and what we might think. Maybe a certain big blow-up was enough to spoil everything. Trust. That was the one thing that needed to be built.

One weekend, I got really bored and even borderline depressed, because that's what happens when you leave me alone with my life thoughts. Since Sora just got his permit, he had to have Mom alongside when he drove to Kairi's house that afternoon. Those two crazy kids were becoming close as friends and would probably end up closer. Mom planned to go on yet another date with Luxord before she would later pick my brother up. This pretty much resulted in me hanging out around the house, digging in the bag of Cool Ranch Doritos and watching _The Breakfast Club _on TV. "Smoke up, Johnny!" indeed. I shrank within myself, basically, looking to the movies once again for escape.

This wasn't fair. My mom and brother were both hanging out with people who loved them, damn them.

If not love, then at least strong like—whatever, did it matter? Ugh, sure, sure, I'm highly aware of the fact you need your own self-respect to lead a happy life. But, maybe a guy to hang out with (aka dating) would be a bonus for me. That appreciation would be nice to have. I mean, look at me! I was hanging out at my house all alone on a frickin' Saturday afternoon. I couldn't get much lower than that. Oh, and in case you were wondering, Dad was on a business trip _again_. I hated my life at the moment. Honestly, I was pondering where my life was going. So, with nothing else to do, I put on my light blue coat, black gloves, and white scarf before getting the hell out of there.

Hm, where to go on a crappy winter day? The park, of course. At least I knew I could be alone instead of being stuck in my house...alone. OK, it wasn't much of a solution, but I had no idea. Oddly enough for that time of year, I managed to ride my bike all the way there. I was desperate for something to do. Once there, I just sat on a swing after I dusted the snow off. Wow. I was imitating several teen flicks and books with this move, especially with the sitting on the swing. Maybe directors use that as a symbol or something for a more innocent time. A time when Mom didn't threaten me with Prozac two years ago. A time when I didn't need ibuprofen to get myself to sleep. Yeesh, my headaches were bad back then and my back. Well, I stopped using that last year but still. So, as cliché as this moment was, I started pushing myself back and forth, higher and higher.

"Yo, Namine!" I heard Demyx yell along with the rolling of skateboard wheels on a sidewalk. As I peeked through my hair curtain, I noticed he stopped boarding to flip the skateboard up into the crook of his arm. He waved at me, acting as hyper as usual. I waved back before his friends Zexion and, yes, Riku caught up. Both of them followed Demyx to my swing. The mullted/faux hawked/question marked musician took the swing next to me, and Zexion sat on the one on the other side of me. Riku remained standing, shyly putting his hands in his pockets and looking everywhere but at me.

"I take it not one of our fine fast food restaurants could amuse you," Zexion said sarcastically, a tiny smirk on his face. I giggled and shook my head.

Swinging more slowly, I replied airily, "Nope, didn't think of that. I was too bored to consider it to be honest. My mom was out, Sora was out...I got bored."

"Yeah, I've felt like that before. Just stuck inside the house with nothing to do until it kills you. Not even _Guitar Hero _can cure it. You gotta break free."

Demyx and Axel definitely shared the same logic. However, the redhead more often as not sought out escape. I just nodded and stared off into space. I think I grinned, too.

Curious, Zexion asked me, "You high on life?"

"Actually, I was pondering over depressing parts of my life earlier."

Demyx decided to have Riku talk to me, because he pushed him over my way. The kid who was sort of getting used to having conversations with me blushed.

"We gotta go to the skate park now," Zexion told us. "Before those police jerks kick us out for skating here again. Ah, they don't care if there's a sidewalk around, they think we'll cause trouble anywhere else except the skate park. It's not like we go around stealing stuff or rob banks. However, we do spray paint."

Demyx grinned and held up the devil horns. "Yeah, it's our park, we do whatever we want with it. I mean, they gave it to us, because they hate us so much."

His purple haired friend chimed in, "Skateboarders, hated since the 1970's."

They high-fived each other before they went off. Surprisingly, Riku didn't follow them.

It didn't mean there wouldn't be an awkward silence, though. I swear five minutes had gone by without either of us saying a word. Eventually, I just returned to my swinging while Riku abruptly sat on the swing Zexion had previously occupied.

"So," he said in a tone that didn't really mean anything.

"So."

He fiddled with the chain holding up the swing seat. "You looked like you were depressed earlier."

"I was just thinking. I wasn't feeling anything."

Lie. There would have been other days when that was true but not today. Not even close.

"Well, it looked like something was bugging you. I was curious."

His teal eyes held some kind of intensity when he looked at me, one of which I hadn't seen before. It was like he was trying to figure me out like a puzzle or a video game level. And maybe we shared some understanding through that gaze.

I surrendered to it. "All right, you really wanna know?"

"If not knowing is gonna keep me awake tonight, then yeah, I want to know."

That was clever of him. I held back a laugh. "OK, you asked. Um...it's just...I've been feeling lonely today, I guess. I didn't think it was that before."

He nodded, running a hand through his hair. "Yeah?"

Well, at least Riku was listening to me, even though he didn't prove it too much by saying a whole lot. I couldn't believe how truly shy he was.

I sighed and continued telling my confusing thoughts. "I think sometimes, I wish I had someone to go out with. It's really pathetic, though. I don't need a boyfriend to make me happy. It's just that Sora's spending time with Kairi today. And my mom's out with her boyfriend. I'm worried about that, too. I don't know. It's feeling weird to me, another guy in Mom's life. How could I get used to him?"

Riku shrugged but replied with, "Well, I've felt that way before. You just have to make the best of things. I'm sure this guy is cool, and what's the worst that could happen?"

Talk about a different perspective from mine. I was unsure about my life changes, and he was confident about them.

As I was planning to swing again, he stopped me by grabbing the chain. Confused, I gave him a weird look. Maybe he was going to talk about my insecurities.

"And about the boyfriend thing? Don't worry about it. Dating's...kind of...overrated."

I could see what he meant. Break-ups happened in high school every day over the stupidest things. Then again, Riku seemed fairly reasonable when he broke up with Yuffie.

"Oh? How would you know? You're the type of guy girls go crazy for," I told him unflinchingly, because that was undoubtedly the truth.

He chuckled and shook his head. "I've done stupid things while dating before."

But, he managed to mature from all these mistakes. He had the attitude of one who's screwed up and knew it at the time.

The thing of it was, he learned from these screw-ups to become an awesome guy, even more amazing than he was before. I could tell from staring into his eyes. It's funny how sometimes, you could learn something about a person just by looking at their eyes. His looked rather wise for his age. But, he wasn't a drag to be around. He was still a crazy guy, I was sure of it, no matter how shy.

There was shame in his expression then when he admitted, "I've cheated before."

Well, shoot, maybe he wouldn't be an ideal boyfriend after all. Not like I considered it.

I closed my eyes. "When?"

"Oh, it was really stupid. Eighth grade, on a girl who wasn't my type."

Selphie once told me that all guys cheat at least once. She believes that there are some (more like very rare few) who cheat once and then stop. Others string three or more girls at a time. And some are just "sex addicts" or those who are simply way too horny in my opinion.

"Then be honest with yourself as well as someone you're thinking about dating."

A small smile flickered on Riku's lips. "That's what I've learned. Won't lie—I still felt like a dumbass over not owning up to my feelings. And now I probably fall into that category of 'dirty, rotten, cheating, scumbag guys'."

He laughed bitterly before I shot back with, "That's not true."

I played with my hair innocently as those aqua colored eyes widened out of bewilderment. "I believe in a little thing called redemption. Besides, I might not know you very well yet, but I can tell you're different. Unique. Let's face it, every guy's track record involves cheating any more. Some—quite a few—are just major whores. And that is not you, Riku. Eighth grade means nothing."

He laughed again, this time lighter. "Thanks. And Namine?"

"Mm?"

His eyes took on a certain glow. "There's gonna be a guy, and he's going to appreciate you and your awesome sense of humor. Wouldn't be surprised if a guy likes you now."

So, maybe that disagreement two months ago made him stop liking me after all. But, as Selphie the boy expert wisely once said, guys don't like admitting they like certain girls. They won't flat-out say anything. Besides, maybe if I...if I could go out with...Wow, couldn't even mention the possibility without feeling insecure. Of course, Riku wouldn't want me feeling that way, so I smiled.

"Thanks, Riku. You're a really sweet guy."

He blushed again, probably not used to getting that from any random girl. His cuteness was very endearing to me. Sometimes, it seemed like he wasn't for real.

I got up to leave, much to my reluctance. But, Mom and Sora would probably be back soon, and I didn't want them worrying over me. Mom might call 9-1-1. My gaze drifted briefly over what Riku wore. I couldn't believe he wore shorts (green this time) in this cold. And he had only a black hoodie.

"You going to be all right with those shorts?" I asked him. "I don't want you getting hypothermia or pneumonia or laryngitis or anything like that."

He grinned. "I'll be fine. And how am I going to get laryngitis?"

"Good point. Look it up on Wikipedia if you can and tell me."

I was being sarcastic, and Riku knew it, judging by his laughter. He had a nice laugh, throaty yet kind of a belly laugh. It echoed in my mind all the way home.

* * *

**A/N: ****To me, Xion is like that one guy off The Breakfast Club. She always gets the best lines for some reason. OK, the whole question marked thing referred to Demyx's hair. I have no idea what it is, do you? I mean, style-wise? I swear, it looks like he has a rat tail, if you see any KH illustrations. Ugh, so 80's! **

**Yeah, I had Riku be a former dirtbag cheater. Don't know why. I guess this is where the whole brutally honest part of the story comes in. **


	24. Rockin' around the Christmas Tree

**A/N: Just makin' up for lost time here. Here, enjoy a nearly Christmas in July-ish chapter. Of course, it's not really July in the story timeline but whatever. I hope you guys like it. Oh, and yes, there's a certain yaoi couple implied for sure in this chapter. If you're not inclined to yaoi, don't worry, it's the only one. But, there are gay couples at my school too, so I figured I gotta roll with the times and be realistic. Besides, I like this pairing. XD**

**Disclaimer: I have no possession of KH or its assets. Does that sound lawyer-ish enough?**

* * *

**Chapter 24: Rockin' around the Christmas Tree**

Yeesh, Christmas break could not have come soon enough! Between cramming for tests and homework up to my head, it was a miracle that I survived the rest of the first half of freshman year. And if I had to take these stupid semester exams this stupid school had, I would scream. Otherwise, my life was great. Mom, Sora, and I went to the mall to buy presents for each other, relatives, and Dad. His Christmases were always fun when we went there. And his boss wasn't going to treat him like Bob Crachit, thank God. Due to the holiday season, I found myself humming Christmas songs and getting the urge to bake cookies. One particular song I liked was "Rockin' around the Christmas Tree." Of course, Mom hated it, but she listens to country music. I do too sometimes, but not like what she listens to.

So, luckily, as it turned out, I wouldn't have to take those infamous semesters that Axel complained about in study hall. My lowest grade had been a B- in P.E., but I had an idea where Mr. Lexaeus could shove his standards. I don't know how I managed to scrape by in my classes. I'm not the best student, but at the end of the day, I'm all right. On the last day before break, my friends bombarded my locker, a few at a time, to talk to me. Everyone had to get in their last few minutes of conversation after all. I was just finishing telling Axel about my whacky Wonderland dream.

He pretended to frown. "No way, the smoking Caterpillar? I'm at least Cheshire Cat status!"

I laughed and pointed at him. "Well, it's not my fault you like cigarettes!"

Roxas showed up then and patted Axel's shoulder in greeting. I could tell that there was definitely a close-ness there. All right, I was gonna ask as soon as this part of the conversation was over.

"So, Namine, what's this I hear about a Wonderland dream?"

I filled Roxas in on the details of the dream. He rolled his eyes at the Axel the Caterpillar part.

However, he smiled as he told me, "Teacher, don't fill him up with your rules."

"Because everybody knows that smoking ain't allowed in school," they said at the same time.

I laughed. "You goofballs! I'm just telling my dream like it happened."

Really, I think both guys only wanted to squeeze in a painfully obvious classic rock reference. Still, there was one thing I absolutely had to know before I left today for break.

As I tossed in my book in my tote bag, I decided to approach things delicately. "Look, guys, I don't want to offend you or anything...But, I noticed you two seem to be more than just friends. Do you...? Are you by any chance...?"

"Gay?" Axel asked flatly before he sighed. "All right, you got us. I'm bi."

"Gay, just gay, that's what I am. I did the whole dating the straight girl routine before I came out." Roxas smiled sheepishly, awkwardly scratching the back of his head.

The redhead chuckled while punching his (I could only assume now) boyfriend in the shoulder. "No offense, dude, but that has to be the oldest trick in the closet gay guy book."

"So, you guys are dating?" I asked for confirmation.

Both of them wore the cheesiest grins on their faces before they briefly smooched. Being a gay rights supporter, I had no objections. Sure, sure, me straight as a stick, but I could at least be accepting. Ever since the epic "D-I-V-O-R-C-E", I refused to be narrow-minded. For some reason, I made that a life goal as well as to try new things—hobbies and foods mostly. But, I'm not bungee jumping off a cliff any time soon. Anyway, I took that as a yes.

Before I hurried out toward the bus, I inquired over my shoulder, "Who was the girl, Rox?"

"Xion."

Wow...now that was something. Then again, it wasn't that rare for someone in the closet to date a straight friend.

Somehow, though, I couldn't help but get the feeling that Roxas was way more comfortable with his sexuality than Axel. Yes, definitely so. On the other hand, the easygoing, redhead smoker seemed very insecure. I personally assumed it was because he hadn't told his parents yet. That had to be key to full confidence in your own sexuality, right? Poor Axel. If there was someone who didn't deserve happiness more, it was definitely him. Because of this, I remained rather silent on the bus ride home, thinking what the dude's problem could be. I ain't a psychologist, though, so it was hard even to explain to myself. On the bright side, break had finally arrived, and I could simply relax.

* * *

Christmas dawned a few days later. I always wanted to use that word. Dawned. It sounded like it came straight outta the books. The smell of turkey in the oven drifted all the way upstairs and into my nostrils. Mmm, hopefully, there would be another excellent bird served today. Only Luxord wouldn't be around to carve it up. He planned on spending his Christmas back in England with his "mum", dad, and a brother and a sister with their families. Could his family situation be any more perfect? However, last time he was here, he mentioned his brother going overboard with decorations one Christmas Eve, nearly setting their parents' house on fire.

So, OK, imperfect family in some ways. Hey, at least they held together.

Besides, Mom thought it more appropriate that it was just the three of us celebrating. I got up from bed to go downstairs to open presents. Usually, I would have gotten up earlier if I hadn't had a detailed dream. I was in Willy Wonka's chocolate factory, arm wrestling with Oompa-Loompas that had faces resembling Xion's. It was strange. Anyway, I didn't even change out of my red jammies as I went downstairs. In the living room, Sora waited impatiently, glaring at his presents as though expecting them to magically open on their own.

"About time you got up," he told me reproachfully. "I've camped out here since 5 A.M."

Sure, I laughed but I shook my head in disbelief at the same time, wondering how he managed to wake up so early. Even though it was Christmas.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm sorry. I was busy arm wrestling Oompa-Loompas in my sleep."

He snorted. "Yep, you could take them on."

"I could!"

"You're not much taller than they are."

I made a move to hit him before Mom said flatly, "I take it Namine's up. Good, let's get this over with, shall we?"

Despite her tone of voice, she came in beaming like the sun. Let's face it, if you ain't happy on Christmas, you ain't living. One of my mottos.

What was really scary about this moment, though, was that Mom started whistling "Deck the Halls" while passing out our gifts. Considering she hadn't been this light-hearted on Christmas in five years (read: longer than the epic journey to Mordor), it was quite a sight. Dang, quite a sight. I quickly unwrapped my first present to see a laptop from Mom.

"Finally, my own personal computing device!" I cheered, weirding out my brother.

He scooted away from me. "Wow, you speak geek...Whoa."

"Nothing new there, bro. Thanks Mom."

She smiled warmly. "You're welcome."

Among other things, I got a box of chocolate truffles form Luxord (who, judging by the boxes of candy Mom and Sora got, believes candy is the answer to everything), a _Death Note _T-shirt from Sora, and $250 from Grandma Ronnie. Yeah, with her, it's more than just Vegas where she got the money from. Money makes the world go round. She believes it, I don't. On second thought, almost my entire family believes it. Dad would give me and Sora our presents the following day, though he already sent Mom poinsettias, a sweet, thoughtful gift. Miraculously, my parents still send each other gifts. There are many awkward traditions with our family.

I got Mom a nice blue sweater, Sora a new X-Box 360 game, and even Jiji a toy mouse—catnip mouse, of course. Needless to say, he loved it. He couldn't stop messing with it all day. And as for the Christmas dinner, Mom sure knew how to cook good turkey. It tasted way tenderer than the last one. Overall, our Christmas was rather quiet, just the three of us spending some family time. One thought in my mind at one point was that Mom had definitely changed since our move to Kingston. Though I would say it's not much of a place, it's been doing wonders for our social lives. Mom was even in a constant happy mood by finally cooking properly again. Nothing could get better than her, Sora, and I getting along most of the time instead of sometimes.

Mom celebrated Christmas with us siblings in a reasonable, wise old adult way. Today, as soon as Dad took us to his house, he got random and excited.

"If only there was a ball pit in this living room! Man, I've just been feeling so alive today. Must be you guys."

We grinned, though I told him, "You know, if you love life this much, you really shouldn't be working at your stupid businessman job any more."

He sighed as he led us toward a small silver fake Christmas tree with a dismal four presents under it, two for each of us. At that moment, I realized poor Dad must be lonely often. With his demanding job (read: enslavement), he didn't have time to date.

Heck, once I considered everything, he didn't have time to do anything at all, at least anything fun. It was a shame. Dad could be the most enthusiastic guy in the world sometimes. What was he doing cooped up in a plane a lot?

Sora sat under the tree to open up his presents. "Yeah, Dad, aren't you ever gonna quit?"

In response, Dad let out a nervous laugh while scratching his head. "I don't know, Sora. I've been thinking about it. Anyway, sorry I didn't get you two more presents. By the time, _the boss _said I could leave"—he made a disgusted noise—"It was Christmas Eve morning."

I was really starting to pity him. "Look, Dad, it's OK. You probably would have spoiled us if you had more time."

Obviously, time was Dad's worst enemy. I'm just glad Mom didn't get as mad as she used to be over him not being home that often on custodial visit days. Meantime, he laughed at the point I brought up. Seriously, he would have likely given us twelve presents each.

"True, true. Now don't keep me in suspense and rip those babies up already. You'll be surprised."

Sora received a Steelers (I think, I don't watch football) jersey, which made him giddier than necessary and a new iPhone. Lucky idiot, he got a frickin' iPhone. God. As for me, I got a nice set of acrylic paints every shade of the rainbow and...

Hold your breath...a sky blue dress for casual occasions like a party or something. I blinked at it. I hadn't worn dresses since third grade. But, this was about my size.

I fake grinned. "Um...thanks, Dad. What the heck do you want me to do with it?"

Incredibly stupid question, I know. The thing of it was, though, I planned on using it as a dust rag. No, wait, I can picture Mom yelling at me for that. Besides, I admit, it was...too nice looking to even give it the good Viking funeral Axel could help me with. The dress had a light green sequin band around the waist area, not to mention the fabric felt nice. Dad stared blankly at me.

"Well, for parties, of course. You're probably gonna go to some sweet sixteen bashes in a year or so, maybe less. Or maybe school dances."

This coming from the man who hated his high school so much, he preferred goofing off at Homecoming games to dancing. Besides, to quote _Wayne's World_, "I'm not worthy! I'm not worthy!"

Sora and I exchanged glances—or, actually, it was more like me giving Sora the Death Glare of Doom that said don't laugh at me, bro. He didn't. Good, the holiday season should go by without any thrashings.

I sighed. "Dad, my legs look like sticks. No dude is going to want to see me wearing—"

"It's more for you than for boys, Namine. You shouldn't care what other people think. I mean, this kid from my high school—Billy Marshall, I think it was—used to trash can me all the time. You think I let him get away with it?"

"No," Sora and I both said before my bro asked, "What'd you do?"

"Beat the crap out of him at the park, what do you think?"

He said it in such a dead-on imitation of Napoleon Dynamite, we both laughed like crazy. Oh my gosh, Dad could be so immature at times. He was like a kid who refused to grow up. Though I knew what he was trying to teach me through his story.

I grinned. "OK, I won't care about guys' opinions. I'll just beat them up at the park."

Dad had started laughing with Sora before he got serious. "No, my little princess is not—"

"Relax, Dad, I was kidding!"

"Oh."

Sora then mentioned, "You'll just do the dad thing and use a shotgun on them, right, Dad?"

"Right." He nodded. "But only when they're dating Namine."

* * *

**A/N: ****OK, so at the time of writing this, I was reading the fifth Harry Potter book. So, for some reason, I based Namine's dad off Sirius Black. I guess it's probably because they both remind me of teenagers, even though they're adults. Which I always thought was so cool, even though yes, it is Peter Pan Syndrome at work. **

**How'd you like?**


	25. The One with the Big Bash

**A/N: I haven't watched many _Friends _re-runs, but few I have seen, I've liked. I especially love the way they titled their episodes, which is why I titled this one like that. Just a random little fact. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter. It's huge again.**

* * *

**Chapter 25: The One with the Big Bash**

"I'm throwing a huge party. Mom said it was OK," Sora told me one bitterly cold January day. At this point, we had had two snow days in a row since it dumped eight inches earlier this month. Now you know why I hate winter so much: too much cold and snow.

I accidentally bumped my head against my locker out of shock. "Oh, son of a—what?"

"Yeah, I'm getting the invites out."

"Dude, you know what happened with the last one?" I freaked, definitely not forgetting what I said to Riku at Kairi's party. I still carried quite a bit of regret over that incident, despite the fact that he and I were getting along great. We conversed a lot more in art class, which pleased both Roxas and Yuffie. But, I didn't want a rift due to a different party.

As a therapist (a particularly crappy one) once said to me, if there was a problem, it was best to eventually take what was causing the problem out of the situation. That person got fired a week later, apparently. Still, I figured why not take myself out of a potentially bad situation? So, I told my brother who I loved very much...

"I'm not going."

Now it was his turn to act surprised. "What? You're my sister. You have to go!"

"Hell I won't."

He got pissed. "Fine, don't go! But, Riku's going to be very disappointed."

Actually, Sora wasn't at royally pissed yet, and I discovered I instantly regretted using this crappy tactic. Shouldn't have even remembered the crackpot who told me about it.

"Fine, wait. I'll go, I'll go. I was just worried that I might cause drama again."

My brother was about to storm off when he did wait up for me. His mouth fell off his jaws practically. "Saying you're a drama queen is like saying I'm a genius."

"Unlikely?" I shrugged. "I guess. It's just that I'm not hurting anybody's feelings again. It was bad enough the first time."

Acting brotherly for once, he patted my shoulder. "Don't sweat it. And who says there's gonna be any party drama? 'Sides, it's gonna be a huge bash at the community center."

"That big, huh?" I raised one last doubtful eyebrow before surrendering. "All right, that's too tempting an offer to refuse."

As I walked off to lunch, though, I thought what the heck was that "Riku being disappointed" line about? Riku had absolutely nothing to do with Sora's birthday unless he would be invited, which was probably the case. Even with that, why would my brother assume that the silver haired guy would care if I was there or not? If anything, he'd be relieved. Thank God, no drama. I looked deep inside myself and realized I had subconsciously agreed to be at the party the very instant Riku was brought up.

Sora was a brain ninja, and he didn't even know it.

"Damn it!" I yelled in realization, making Yuna turn around abruptly. Great.

"Watch your mouth," she said, sneering at me like she did.

I checked up the hall and down the hall, my eyes taking in the surroundings. Everyone had gone to lunch, Mr. Harrison would be at the cafeteria, and Mr. Ansem would prowl his lair otherwise known as the foyer. No witnesses.

As roughly as possible, I pushed her against a locker. Her light brown eyes got so ridiculously ginormous, I snickered. Only the one time I would do this, though, just so I could tell posterity. Besides, I didn't plan on a cliché high school rivalry.

I grinned while she started heading out the door. "Rikku told me to say hi!"

What a story I would tell Xion and Selphie, too! Not to mention Rikku and the others over at Destiny.

I wanted to do that for a long time, simply because she was annoying and superficial and represented everything I was against. Just to get it out of my system relieved me. Plus, it also showed how much tougher I got since middle school. I guess you could say middle school hardened me a little. So, I told Selphie and Xion that charming story, and they laughed—the best reaction ever. Talking to them almost made me feel like I could genuinely be a party person. Almost. While I went to middle school, no one asked me to their parties, not one person. My second party in two months, though it was my brother's, made me feel awkward and weird. In high school, I slowly found myself gaining a social life. But, it takes a while for a deep down quiet, shy girl to come out of her shell.

Later, while Sora and Mom shopped for party supplies (I wanted to stay behind, since it was _his _birthday party), I decided to call Paine on my cellphone. I had to tell her about today.

"Hey, Paine, how's the band been doing since our last practice?" I asked.

"Hey, Tasaki, it's been ages. We're doing well, yeah."

It had been about a week since our last jam session, and we had come up with three new songs. Hopefully, we would have a good variety to pick from by the time the Lobster Festival came around. I was proud of how awesome our band was.

I shrugged, even though Paine couldn't see it. "You know how much I hate talking on the phone."

"True, true. It's too bad that your mom won't let you have a Facebook."

Ugh, she had to go and bring that up! I rolled my eyes from the stupidity of this situation, because I had this feeling that no matter how much Mom lightened up, she would never budge from that Facebook ban. Sometimes, I wanted to secretly create an account just to spite her. But, I guess it was best I avoided online drama—offline drama was nauseating enough.

Stretching out on my bed lazily, I waved a careless hand. "Well, you know, she's Mom. So, anyway, I pushed Yuna against a locker today. She got scared by that."

I heard that vague grin in her voice. "Sweet. About time she got it handed to her. What'd she do?"

"Oh, you know, annoyed the crap out of me. It just felt right to do it."

Paine softly applauded for me and made sure it was audible on my end. I couldn't help but laugh at her...well, not enthusiasm, more like evil joy.

She decided to reach the end of our conversation. "I gotta work on my stupid algebra pretty soon. So, Sora's having a party?"

"Yeah, and it sounds like Riku's going to be invited, too."

"Uh-oh...but, wait, you told me you guys are getting along."

I shifted positions awkwardly. "We are. I hope I don't jinx a fun party again."

She sighed on the other end like my mom would. "Relax, Namine, I have some sort of positive premonition about this guy. And I don't get that many positive feelings."

Our inside joke, which made me laugh again. "I bet. Later, Paine, until our next session."

* * *

Saturday was January 21st, the day of Sora's birthday and the party, and I couldn't believe how fast the days had gone by. Even though I was excited, I was also terrified out of my mind, too. It is possible to feel those two things at once. The invites had been passed out ages ago, so I definitely knew who would come. Unfortunately, that stupid Wakka kid was on the list, but I could just ignore him. Besides, my friends got invitations, and that was all they could talk about for a while. Mom would act as supervisor, though she warned us ahead of time Grandma Ronnie would show up.

We groaned. At least she wouldn't stay long, because she would have her eight o'clock bingo game to go to, thank Buddha. She was a very gossipy old lady, that was the problem.

In the mean time, I paced up and down my room at six o'clock later that evening, a half hour before we would leave. My hands were turning purple from cut off circulation, because I kept squeezing them tightly. I had no idea what to wear. It quickly turned me into a nervous wreck. Would people like what I chose to wear as a party outfit?

I checked my closest about the thirtieth time, and it suddenly stood out: my light blue dress. And I had just one pair of black flats that were perfect. I gave up. As much as I didn't want to wear that dress, I figured I shouldn't disappoint Dad.

After I put the dress on and took a look in the mirror (not bad, good enough for a party even), I dared to put make-up on. God, what was with me tonight? I guess I was acting on instincts I had no idea I even had. Scary. All through the ride to the community center, my heart threatened to fly out of my chest. Please don't let it be like last time. Not only did I hate that argument with Riku, I found myself strangely nervous around him. Like he could see through my defenses like through X-ray vision. Of course, he couldn't have known. Girls think it's hard to read guys and vice versa. It's like we were different species to each other rather than different sexes. Maybe the title of that one book Mom has around _Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus _was dead accurate.

We all had to arrive early in order to set up the food tables and the stereo system Sora bought with his Christmas $250—well, partially, Mom paid the rest. It was a good thing we got a cheap one week rental of the center itself, so that we had only tables needing set and of course the stereo system. Kind of a weird thing for a community center to get rented, though—I guess in Kingston, anything's possible. Anyway, our first guest to arrive was none other than Kairi who actually brought a present wrapped in green paper (Sora's favorite color) instead of a card of cash.

"Hey, Kairi, glad you're here early. In fact, the party doesn't start"—I glanced over at the clock—"For another ten minutes yet."

She blushed to the roots of her dark red hair as she tossed the gift onto the table set aside for them. "Oh, I wanted to be...Well, there was nothing else to do at my place. But, oh my God Namine, you look really pretty!"

I grinned shyly. "Well, I got my first dress since grade school for Christmas, so I thought what the heck? Don't ask me why I wore make-up, though. I still don't know myself."

"I think it looks great. The boys will be all over you."

We held back our heads laughing at the same time before I said sincerely, "Let's hope not."

So, group by group, the rest of Sora's forty (yes, _forty_) guests arrived while the chips and dip was being laid out along with cookies, veggies (Xion could not be forgotten), and a variety of sodas. Some of the popular kids were invited, much to my disgust, but it was my friends who mattered most. I came up to Xion who wore her normal (if you could call her normal anything) hippie clothes and Selphie who wore a gray British flag T-shirt with a black mini skirt. They freaked over how I looked with me wearing an actual dress.

"Wow, Nami, I never thought I'd see you in a dress." Selphie then pretended to cry. "You're finally getting in touch with your girly girl side."

I lightly punched her in the arm. "Come on, it's not like this is the first time."

Xion grinned and messed around with her rainbow peace sign necklace. "Yeah, you look like an angel, Namine. Very pretty. Oh, I saw Zexion and his friends on the way here. Fashionably late as usual, skateboarding all the way here. Oh, music's playing."

After she said this, she practically did interpretive dance to a Green Day song—"Basket Case" of all songs! She did these really weird twirls while the two of us shook our heads.

"She better not have done _that _at the Warped Tour," I said blankly.

Selphie patted my head. "It's all in her nature, Namine. I've known her for a long time."

I went over to talk to Axel and Roxas, catching up on things, when I saw him walk in.

His silver hair was practically platinum under the lights, and luckily, he wasn't wearing shorts for a change. Maybe he took my advice on avoiding getting laryngitis. I smiled at that memory, and he seemed to catch me staring then, because he smiled back in his shy way. He even lifted a hand in greeting before he leaned against the entrance door.

"Let us in!" I could hear Zexion's voice insist. "And I will use brute force."

"Yeah, Riku!" Demyx joined in. "Don't be such a jackass!"

That moment made me laugh as I noticed Riku grinning evilly before letting his friends in.

Just seeing him there randomly reminded me of his painting that Mom ended up buying at that one festival. I went toward the refreshment table to point him out to her.

"So, that's the artist, huh?" She looked at him very briefly before saying, "Well, like I said, he is one talented guy. But, does his hair have to be so long?"

I groaned, "Moooom, don't judge. I think he's handsome."

Oooh, I did not mean for that to slip out! I clapped my hands over my mouth out of embarrassment before slowly walking away. I was in shock for a while, that's for sure. Managing to recover fairly quickly, though, I joined people doing the Macarena, the one dance I was skilled at. I glanced at Riku staring at me every so often, and I didn't see him dancing. He goofed off with Demyx and Zexion for a bit but otherwise was inactive.

As I noticed Sora coming up to him to talk for a while, I saw blue hair. Uh-oh, Grandma Ronnie dropped in, most likely to criticize Mom's supervising abilities and pinch Sora's not-so-chubby cheeks. She always insists the dimples are still there. I went to warn Sora.

He swore loudly before complaining, "Oh no, the old hag's here!"

"You call your grandma that?" Riku asked us skeptically. For all we knew, he probably had a perfectly nice grandma who baked cookies for him every time he visited.

"Trust me, Grandma Ronnie is very obnoxious and likes finding faults with people. Oh, and she got a lot of money from Vegas," I told him. "In fact, I'd—"

I heard a screechy, heavy smoker female voice. "Namine! Sora! Long time no see!"

And, slapping myself in the face out of shame, I murmured, "Too late," as Grandma Ronnie bustled over to us. Along with the blue wig, she had pink studded glasses, a sequin purse (sadly yes, she does own one), and her usual loud colored clothes. The ever present cigarette was in her mouth. She smooched both of us on the cheeks, which she pinched extra tight.

"Who's you friend?" she immediately inquired, squinting with badly near-sighted eyes at Riku who barely flinched. "He's not one of those doper hippies, is he?"

While I melted into a humiliated, Wicked Witch of the West puddle, Sora replied, "No, Grandma, this is Riku. He's a good friend. And the hippie is over there, but she's vegan."

As though the situation couldn't get any worse, Grandma dared to ask poor, innocent Riku the million dollar question, "Do you ever cut your hair, son?"

"Um...yeah, three times a year."

"Hmph, in my day, young men cut their hair short once a month. I don't understand kids these days, what with their Xphones and I-Boxes."

I very visibly flinched. "Um, Grandma, I think Sora wants his present now."

Sora tried not to hold out his hand for money. "Yeah, you don't want to miss bingo, do you?"

"No, I don't. Gotta beat that Maureen bitch some time. She's a cheat! Well, here you go, Sora, don't spend it all in one place. In my day, we didn't trust these banks—"

"Goodbye, Grandma," my brother and I said at the exact same time.

Distractedly waving at us, she toddled away while continuing her ranting under her breath. I gave a sigh of relief. Finally!

"About time we lost her."

Sora pointed over at Riku who currently slow danced with Selphie. "Looks like it's not the only person we lost. Don't worry."—he must have noticed—"I think he's just being polite. See? Distanced enough to please most strict teachers."

Sure enough, he did hold Selphie like he was at a school dance with mean teacher chaperones trying to separate everybody. Still, the inferiority complex reared up and scolded me for not asking him to dance. No. He won't see me as any more than a friend. Get used to it.

It was a nice song, too: "There You Are" by Martina McBride. I'm not normally a huge country fan, but the melody of the song gets to me. It was so sweet, and I knew it was Mom's idea to have that song be included. I guess there's such a thing as having an eclectic music taste. Meantime, this whole standing here in a pretty dress with nothing to show for it randomly bothered me. So, I took my coat, a cup of Pepsi, and two cookies and got outside in really cold weather. What can I say? Sometimes, I don't think about what I do before I go through with it. This case was a perfect example—I should have remembered I was wearing a dress.

Oh well, while my legs were cold with goosebumps, the rest of me wasn't. I shoved a matching light blue stocking cap over my head. There. The head is the singularly most important body part to be protected. And I didn't learn that from school either. It was just a simple life lesson. Nah, more like tidbit.

"Hey," I heard a quiet male voice behind me.

For some reason, I grinned on impulse. "Hey yourself."

I took this opportunity to look at him. He wore that brown beanie again (though it was practically usual of him to wear it), a black Vans hoodie (with the Vans logo, that's what I meant), and baggy khaki pants. Not even a female friend of his could possibly deny it: he was perfectly handsome. Those teal eyes locked onto mine.

Trying to ignore the instant warm sensation spreading through me, I resolved to act as friend only. Because we were getting close to befriending each other, I felt it.

"Um, you look great," he told me, gesturing toward my dress as he blushed slightly.

Pretending to be casual, I sipped my Pepsi. "Thanks, that's really sweet of you."

Commence awkward silence. Throw all alleged teen flick plot twists out the window. I didn't even know Riku noticed I had gone out for air. He must have asked Sora.

"So...why are you out here? It's cold as hell froze over out here."

I laughed slightly. "To think. I know, stupid reason, but I needed air."

He smiled. "Yeah, I can see that."

Something told me when he wasn't with friends, he could be found someplace outside thinking. It'd be like me and the ocean back at Destiny.

I rubbed my hands together before taking out a cookie. "Cookie?"

"Sure, why not?" he replied after he somewhat hesitated.

So, I got out the other chocolate chip one out of my coat pocket, and we just stood there eating cookies. It might have looked funny to most, but I think we were bonding in our own weird way. You know what they say about great minds? Same thing has to apply to artists. Else, we wouldn't hang out with other artists. We're magnets.

After a while, I got tired of feeling nice ooey-gooey chocolate chips melt in my mouth and wanted to talk about something interesting. Hm, how to get to know someone like Riku? Might as well start off with something easy.

"What's your favorite color?"

He looked at me like I was insane. "Seriously?"

"Ah, yes, the age-old question. Yeah, seriously." I smirked.

"Hm...I gotta say blue."

"Mine too!"

"Really?"

I nodded a little too enthusiastically, but that made Riku chuckle.

Wow, off to a great start with having things in common! Yes! Hm, I decided to ask about music next since I was in a band and all that.

I rocked back and forth on my heels. "What's your favorite band?"

"Nirvana."

"Oooh, I love that band! I have practically two of their three albums on my iPod."

"Cool. What's yours?"

That was a hard question for me, but I answered, "Have to say Led Zeppelin. Oh, and I'm also into metal, but mostly old-school stuff. I like Slipknot and Megadeth, though, among a crapload of other bands. Just don't turn on Jonas Brothers music. I'll die."

Riku snickered, and I could tell I was slowly warming up to him and vice versa. We loved the same genre of music. Awesome. I wondered if we could go three for three with stuff in common, but I thought it was better to save it until another day. In the mean time, we talked about music a lot. I think that's one thing we'll be able to click with. And why not? All teenagers love music. But, I doubt most of them will have the enthusiasm for it like Riku and me.

"I can sing 'That's What You Get' on expert," I bragged, talking about _Rock Band 2_.

I really can, though I'm nothing compared to Garnet.

Even though I did the bulk of the talking, Riku at least talked back with those soft-spoken words of his. He talked about how he liked music video games, though when he noticed these pathetic _Singstar _games at the store, he was disgusted. He's a true rocker at heart. When I told him I was in a band, he was impressed—well, beyond impressed.

Staring at me with some sparkle in his eyes, he remarked, "That's really cool. I don't think I've ever met a girl who likes metal and is in a band. What do you play?"

"Bass. By the way, what does Yuffie listen to?"

His smile faded a little but was still there. "Alternative rock, pop-punk—not really big on metal."

Rocker girl but apparently not rocker enough—I then started to remember how cold I was.

"Well, let's go inside. I'm freezing. 'Sides, I think they're gonna cut the cake soon," I told my new friend, and we went back in.

* * *

**A/N: ****I know, Namine's grandma was weird. For some reason, I just couldn't see her family be very close-knit apart with her, Sora, and their mom or dad. Simple enough, I guess, but still. Oh, and I also don't get old people's deal with hippies. That always confused me. XD Seriously, though, it did. They're like Cartman off South Park when it comes to that, seriously. Oh, I also hoped you enjoyed Namine knocking Yuna against a locker. Wasn't originally gonna be in the chapter, just happened.**

**So, yay, Riku and Namine are now friends! Awesomeness. Please review guys. It would make me very happy.**


	26. The Survey and other VDay Torture Devic

**A/N: In which Namine is subjected to her new high school celebrating V-Day. The horror! Because, honestly, do you guys like it when your school does cheesy stuff that time of year? I don't, because my school gets very, very cheap and lame. Here to make light of it (ish) is this chapter. XD**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, though part of this is vaguely, vaguely based on a true story.**

* * *

**Chapter 26: The Survey and other V-Day Torture Devices**

Early February is usually one of the worst times to be at school, at least for me. Not only is there more homework anyway, but it is the time when I'm very, very aware that I'm single. It gets awkward and uncomfortable, especially with Valentine's Day coming up soon. In English, we started reading _Romeo and Juliet_, which made me mime shooting myself for Pence. I don't like overdramatic romance. I have spent most of last year avoiding being so dramatic. Then again, pretending to pop my head off isn't exactly normal but oh well. That's how I felt about it anyway. Not to mention student council was promoting Crush soda, flower, and chocolate bar sales. I knew I wouldn't get anything. Guys don't notice me. Still...I considered getting chocolate for Riku.

What would he think of that, though? Guys like chocolate, right? Now that was a stupid question. I worried he would think I would be a dork for doing something student council related for once. Sure, sure, we talked heck of a lot more lately, but it might not be enough. Stupid shyness, my one weakness. It didn't help that we had to take compatibility surveys in homeroom on a Tuesday. In my eyes, there was no one else but Riku. But, I had to be realistic. He may not like me back, so it would be useful to have a list of back-ups...or maybe not. I could not look desperate. Miss Lockhart passed out the survey questions and scantrons. We all simultaneously rolled our eyes.

Hayner even asked her, "Hey, Miss Lockhart, is this the school's sorry attempt to be eHarmony?"

Some kids laughed, others were still sulky about having to take these stupid things. I was somewhere in the middle. I mean, I giggled, but I was rather bummed out that I had to take a survey. The school trying to divinely intervene with our love lives was the most sadistic thing I had ever heard of. How can you do that to someone?

Miss Lockhart had the perfect reply. "Well, Hayner and the rest of you, I hated doing these things myself. And between you and me, the results are wrongly inaccurate. However, if you guys are curious, the results will be sold for 50¢ next Monday during lunch. Until then, I'm sorry, but you have to take these."

Olette, usually a bright, cheery person, was honestly the one most against taking this so-called compatibility survey. "These things always have stupid questions. It's not like you could have a conversation with someone of the opposite sex beyond that. I mean, come on, it's really stupid."

"Yeah," I agreed. "And pretty much everyone has standards, right? Even dudes. Personally, I think they should make teachers take them. I bet Spit Lady and Mr. Ansem would be paired up, though I doubt he would like her spitting on him."

Pence chuckled. "Good idea. Hm, first question: what food are you most like? A—chocolate, B—carrot, C—strawberry, or D—bread."

Hayner let out a laugh he tried so desperately to hold back. "Oh yeah, I'm definitely bread. I'm so boring. Is that what it's supposed to be, Namine?"

I shrugged at him. "I have no idea. I'd say you're a carrot. I mean, look at you! Your hair could easily pass for carrot leaves. Plus, I think you're hit and miss with people."

"Food psychology—that pwns," he said sarcastically but colored in B anyway.

I thought I was a strawberry, because I could be sweet and sour, depending on my mood. Nonetheless, the questions were really stupid. Even one that was promising to be rad turned stupid.

"Oooh, this one isn't so bad," I commented after getting through a "what's your favorite MTV show?" one.

My other three friends looked at me hopefully, as though I was going to make the survey less painful for everyone. Believe me, I would have tried if I could.

"What concert would you be seen at? That's—oh dear God. A—Lady Gaga, B—Jay-Z, C—Jonas Brothers, or D—oh no—D is Miley Cyrus. Kill me now. No real rock—you gotta be kidding me. Ugh!"

We all stared at each other for a while. "B, definitely."

I don't even like rap, but I would rather go to a concert of Jay-Z's than the other three. Pop is even less my thing. Luckily, that question gave us hope, because it was the second to last one on that survey otherwise known to me as a V-Day torture device. I finished it, though, after I shaded in D—cat for the cliché "what animal are you most like?"

There was no way I could match up with Riku when it came to my responses. But, like I basically said, I rolled my eyes throughout the whole survey. Later that day, during lunch, Selphie and Xion told me about their responses.

"I put flying pig for animal I was most like," Xion told me in a relaxed way, almost like she was floating. "I would have put dove if it had been a choice, but at least the flying pig is a mythical creature."

I nodded like she was being completely normal. "Yeah, OK, I guess it is."

She then added, "I wonder if I get Zexion on my results list."

Peacefully, she gazed out one of the windows, watching it snow lightly.

Her crush on Zexion Fisher couldn't be more obvious. In fact, any more when she talked to him, Xion would start stuttering at random moments. She would blush, laugh too loud at his jokes, and the whole nine yards.

Anyway, Selphie rejected the idea of the survey. "So stupid, though, that survey. I mean, I am not going to talk about what a guy's inner animal is or the color of their aura or even their astrological sign."

"I would," Xion murmured in a sing-song way.

"Of course you would, Xion, you're the weird hippie chick."

I sighed, shaking my head at how my friends' personalities clashed. It was like they were an old married couple or something. I twiddled with my spork.

"Guys, I've been thinking about buying chocolate for Riku. I usually don't like the idea of school and V-Day together. It's like ketchup and mayonnaise."

Selph wrinkled her nose. "Ew. I know what you mean, though. I say go for it."

"You think I should?"

"It's a 'no, duh', Namine," Xion assured me.

I smiled slightly and picked at my salad. "All right, I'll send it anonymously."

Selphie looked really disappointed at that. "Really?"

"Really, because it's the only way I won't feel totally stupid," I said honestly.

* * *

Next Monday was here, and besides the selling of survey results, there was the selling of the other mushy-gushy V-Day crap. I sighed. The Thursday after this week would be the big, nauseating day. I would be rejected and all alone. Oh, forget it, I say enjoy being single while you can. Even if you can be a hypocrite about your own self-advice sometimes. Everyone has moments like that, I'm sure. It just makes you wish for the old days when there was V-Day parties with pink frosting cookies and little card exchanges that didn't really mean anything. In high school, in terms of the holiday, you just pray to God your crush doesn't think you're a loser. Because if he (or she) does, you want to either number one: hide or number two: hide better.

So, first, I bought my survey results without expecting much. When I said my last name, the student council people acted like it was Martian.

"Ta...Tasicki?" one of them asked while another laughed.

"No, idiot, it's Tasakei."

"I'm sorry you all have to exercise your tiny brains for this," I told them sarcastically, just wanting the stupid results already. "It's Namine Tasaki. It's frickin' Japanese. Got a problem with my race?"

Wanting to be as politically correct as possible, those trend sheep shook their heads.

I threw my two quarters at them without waiting for them to take out the metal box that was the school treasury. I know, I'm so nice and sweet and demure. But, I have no patience with the popular kids. I lost sympathy with them ages ago. Deciding to hang out with Axel and Roxas today (they stayed on campus for the same reason as me), I walked over to them while opening up my results.

"Hey, boys," I greeted. "Just finding out who I can get lucky with."

Axel burst out laughing as he took out an unopened envelope of his own.

"Those things are so lame. I'm sorry, I'm already spoken for." He put an arm around Roxas who then opened the redhead's results.

"You're matched up with Larxene, holy crap," the blond guy chuckled.

Axel did a double take with the list before snatching it up to see for himself. Sure enough, Larxene was his number one match, according to the school.

"She was my ex from middle school, dude. I mean, what is this? Schools don't acknowledge gays or bis—or at least gays. Man, this thing can go to hell."

He crumpled up the list, spat on it, and tossed it into the nearest trash can.

Roxas patted his arm. "Don't take it personally, Axe. For God's sakes, we go to a school practically run by the narrow-minded VP."

This was about to get a little too serious. "I'll see who I got on mine."

Pence was my number one match, followed by dorks like Wakka (blech), but no Riku.

"No Riku." I felt myself making the pouting face, stuck-out bottom lip and all. "No freaking Riku. That's discouraging. Axel's right, these things suck. And Pence is just a friend!"

Selphie and Xion walked up to the three of us then, the hippie girl smiling extra wide. "Zexion was my number two match. Karma has been kind."

"You and five other people who believe in that bullcrap," Axel shot back sulkily. "Ah, well, they shouldn't have tried to pair off taken people. How lame can you get?"

I nodded agreeably. "True. I'm just glad they didn't pair me with my brother."

"Good thing the school doesn't believe in incest either. Congrats, Nam."

Laughing at Axel's very cynical joke, I then glanced over at the area where two other student council members took chocolate bar orders. It cost a dollar to buy one. For some reason, my hands were shaking.

"You OK, Namine?" Selphie asked, wearing an expression of mom-ish concern.

I groaned. "No. What the heck will Riku think if I get chocolate for him?"

Soon, I heard four voices goading me into taking an order for him.

Irritated, I gave up. "OK, OK, yeesh, I'll do it."

I walked up to the table where they were selling the chocolate, said, "One please," and hurriedly signed anonymous and even more hurriedly wrote Riku's name down.

Practically running back to my friends, I let out my held-in breath while they cheered for me and patted me on the back. For, yes, doing something like this is a huge accomplishment for a shy girl like me. I don't know why I did it for Riku when I had never done anything like it for any other crush. Maybe my instincts had something to do with it. I still worried that he might feel weirded out over getting anything for V-Day, especially since I knew already I wouldn't get anything. I was so selfless for once. At the very least, I wanted to make him feel special.

"I can't believe I just did that," I told my friends breathlessly. "Damn, I wonder if I'll live to regret it."

"You will not," Roxas said, trying to be reassuring. "He might get embarrassed though."

Wrong thing to say, Rox. I moaned and started pounding my head against the wall. I mean, what if he thought the secret admirer was a dude for instance? And I know he's straight. Oh God, what was I thinking? Or, even worse, he might think this was all one big prank set aside for him. The horror!

Axel punched Roxas in the arm. "Yeah, that's comforting! What he's trying to say, Namine, is that Riku isn't used to girls doing big gestures for him. But, he'll appreciate the chocolate anyway, though he'll be embarrassed at first. Roxas, you give crappy advice."

"I know. Sometimes, I wonder why I try," Roxas admitted.

My other friends and I laughed before we told the two guys goodbye for now. As we walked away, Selphie told me, "I'm proud of you, Namine. And the fact that you're talking to him is even better. He'll totally know you're interested now."

"Yeah, if it's not too late to redeem myself."

"It's never too late for stuff like that," Xion said wisely, longingly glancing over at the Crush soda ordering table. "In fact, what you did makes me want to do the same thing."

As she separated herself from us to order a Crush soda for presumably Zexion, Selphie whispered in my ear, "She's been liking Zexion for two years now. That's why she's never dated anyone except Roxas. But, back then, she just didn't want to hurt Roxas' feelings. Anyway, with her and Zexion... It's so cute! It's like she's holding out a candle for him."

Xion's situation was probably less hopeless than mine, actually. At least Zexion seemed to like her back.

With Riku, I had no idea if he still liked me. Not a clue.

* * *

**A/N: ****So, yeah, I had to take a V-Day survey my freshman year, and it had questions like these only stupider. In fact, I'm afraid I overused the word stupid just a tad. XP Sorry, didn't really want to cuss in this chapter. But, anyway, I was matched up with all the smart guys. All the misogynist smart guys who'd rather have bromances than romances. Lame. It's like they stereotype you. Love is not about stereotypes, am I right, people?**

**Anyway, please review. I'm kind of wondering if you guys agree with me on this: schools should not interfere with people's love lives. True or false? XD**


	27. Peace, Love, and NotsoSubtle Matchmaki

**A/N: Good news! Since the whole story is written now, I will update this more frequently! XD In this chapter, we find out just how weird Zexion is, how weird Xion is, and all sorts of weird stuff. Fans of Owl City (the band), please read this with the mindset that Zexion is a very passionate music critic. Do not be offended. XD**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

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**Chapter 27: Peace, Love, and Not-so-Subtle Matchmaking**

On Valentine's Day, stuff was passed out during first period. While the popular kids who actually cared got chocolate, flowers, and/or soda, I got nothing. Big surprise. This really made me wonder if Riku even liked me in that way. Speaking of which, he mentioned what his V-Day gift was but only when I asked him practically a week later. I was half-afraid of what he might respond with.

While he sketched a black Lab (copying from a magazine picture), he calmly replied, "Well, I got a Hershey bar and that was about it. Weird thing is, the person sent it anonymously."

Be still my beating heart...and my blushing face. I had my own magazine picture to copy, that of a tiger. I've always been obsessed with tigers for some reason—must be the stripes. Anyway, I cleared my throat before I spoke again.

"So, what do you think about getting something like that for V-Day? I mean, did you like it? Were you weirded out at all?" I asked about half a dozen questions.

His graceful fingers dropped his pencil as he smiled slightly. "Actually, I wasn't that put off by it. Sure, when the teacher said I got something, it was...awkward. But, whoever sent it must be really shy. Probably took some guts. It was cute."

Cute! He inadvertently called me cute. Usually, guys didn't use that word unless they meant it. When I made sure Riku wasn't looking, I grinned to myself. Sending him the chocolate bar was the first step. I hoped there was a chance we could be more than friends.

After art was over, I got hit in the head by a birdie in badminton, making it the second time I was hit by something in P.E. that wasn't spherical. I think they'll put me in the Guinness Book of World Records for most times hit by balls. Slowly, I recovered from getting hit (OK, not really, considering the thing was as light as a feather) by the time school let out. I spun the combination before I felt something drop on my head.

"Eh? Oh, hey, Marluxia. I don't think you need to tutor me today."

He grinned and shoved the thing into my hands. "_Death Note_, volume 4. Read it."

"Uh, thanks, dude. By the way, how are things with Larxene?"

"As sweet as ever. Seriously, read that volume, there's some funny parts in it."

And so Marluxia set off down the hall. That was the strangest thing ever.

After I got home, I did what a good student would do—watched TV while reading the _Death Note _volume Marluxia had given me to borrow. I had previously read the three before it, so I was looking forward to it. As Jiji pounced up on the couch to rub against my bent legs, I laughed at that one part when L was being a perv.

"Oh, L, you innocent perv," I said to myself aloud. "You're just a geek looking for some action is all. There's no shame in that."

"Who's a geek looking for some action?" Sora asked me, entering the living room with his favorite snack Funyuns.

Scratching cute little (not-so-little, really) Jiji behind the ears, I replied, "No one."

He nodded in the way that he had definitely overheard me, but he would pretend to believe me. Sadly, since he's family, he automatically knows I'm a bad liar. Just as I know that that lady's man suaveness of his was just a phase this past summer. He took that break-up with his ex harder than he let on, I think. Oh well, Kairi should definitely distract him now. In fact, those two needed to be together if they weren't already. After all, Sora wasn't that shy in person, so he needed to get over that, too. I took some Funyuns from the bag and lazily snacked on them while watching Dr. House pop some pills.

Then, my cellphone vibrated against my body (it was in a hoodie pocket) as soon as I vaguely considered doing my homework. Sora almost dropped his Funyuns bag.

"Crap, who is that?"

"Dunno," I said as I took out my phone, the caller ID saying it was Xion calling me. I wondered what she wanted. She was like me when it came to not talking on the phone too often. Not like these popular girls who text 20,000 words a day and have a $3,000 cellphone bill at the end of the month.

"Hello, Namine Tasaki who is watching House pop pills and be cynical speaking."

Xion's voice on the other end was anything but airy. "Sister, I think I'm in what you call a...crisis, I think."

That instantly put me on edge. "Did you get hurt? Is your family OK?"

See, my definition of crisis is pretty much the Webster definition of the word. However, much to my relief, my hippie friend admitted, "It's not that kind of crisis. It's more of an emotional one. My aura is red with intense worry right now."

"How you feeling?" I asked in a too familiar voice like a former therapist's.

"Like I'm never going to be cheerful again."

I rolled my eyes. "That's a _Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban _quote, Xi. You're not facing a dementor attack, this is guy trouble. Right?"

"Whoa, sister, I had no idea you had ESP. You should have told me!"

Wow, it was unbelievable how she went from overly anxious to excited in just under a minute.

But, that excitement didn't last long, because it soon sounded like my normally serene friend was back to worrying again. I heard a long sigh on the other end.

"OK, I was talking to Zexion, and he didn't mention the orange Crush I gave him. Not once. And I knew that orange soda is his favorite."

I put the TV on mute. "Well, Xion, guys don't usually talk about romantic stuff or crushes. They can be shy like that. Even Mr. Jock Brother over here."

Once Sora noticed I was glancing pointedly at him, he squirmed awkwardly and gave me a "why did you mention that?" look. Interesting, he was a chair squirmer, too.

There was a silence after that, almost like Xion was thinking this over. I doubt she felt completely secure about what I said, though it was the truth.

Finally, she told me, "I'm still nervous about it, though. What if Zexion doesn't like me back? I don't want him to think I was wasting my time when I sent him that soda."

"Look, I'll help you. I won't tell you my plan, but...let's just say it's a surprise."

"A good surprise?"

I laughed slightly. "Definitely. I hope you're back to normal soon, Xion. This new side of you is scaring me."

"I know, it's scaring me, too. Peace out."

"Peace out," I repeated before I ended that conversation.

Reluctantly, I put the _Death Note _volume on a side table before I dragged out my science, algebra, and English homework. I was not looking forward to this. But, better that I did it now than pulling an all-nighter over it. Meanwhile, Sora glared at me.

"What?" I asked.

"Don't mention my issues to your friends."

I glared back at him. "Dude, everyone knows how much you like Kairi. No one needs to tell my friends."

Trying to cover up his blush with his history textbook, he muttered, "So?"

"I'm not gonna answer that," I said stubbornly and got started on my homework. Ugh, I couldn't believe I had to read Act II of _Romeo and Juliet _for homework...

* * *

That one time when I had run into Zexion and Demyx, Mr. Ansem mentioned Zexion's gig at the school newspaper while scolding Dem. Well, Zexion Fisher's monthly section was the most popular one in the paper. In fact, most people only read the paper for that one piece. It was called "Zexion's Muzak Korner", basically two reviews of bands and/or solo artists. His good reviews were reasonable but not crazy raving. And his bad reviews...well, they were scathing but darkly funny. I couldn't believe the head of the paper lets him get away with that. Then again, the editor-in-chief happens to be Mr. Xigbar, so maybe it's not all that surprising.

My plan to help Xion not worry so much over Zexion was to directly talk to him about her while dropping subtle hints. It probably wouldn't take long. Luckily, there was a school newspaper staff meeting that day (so Pence the photog guy told me), so I asked Mr. Xigbar if it was OK to talk to Zexion. Surprisingly, he said yes, and I dragged the messy haired dude out in the hall.

"Now Namine, this better be good. I was thinking of how to word my next review, which is going to be of Owl City. I'm going to butcher them like Michael Myers. Their oversynthesized, techno sh—"

"That's great and all, Zex," I told him hurriedly. "This is about Xion, and she doesn't know I'm doing this. So, if it's OK, I want to talk about her a little."

The maniacal gleam in Zexion's eyes from bashing a suddenly known indie band quickly died away as he got a little more serious. "All right, what is it?"

"It's basically Xion worrying that you didn't like the soda she sent you. But, coming from a fellow girl, it's more than that. See, she really cares what you think of her, I think, and—"

"You want me to go out with her?" he asked, a bemused expression on his face.

Wow, he caught on quick. He didn't make honor roll for nothing after all. Still, not wanting him to feel obligated to go out with his friend, I said quickly, "Not if you don't want to."

He shifted awkwardly on his feet as he hunched his shoulders. "I wouldn't rule it out. Xion is an impressive person. She's not afraid to be herself like me—only she's less prone to rants than me."

I smiled fondly as I told him, "Don't count it out. If a teacher ticks her off, she goes all out and rants about how The Man is unrighteous and self-absorbed and blah-blah-blah."

He chuckled slightly while shaking his head. "That's Xion Summer for you. And here's another thing. She's a freshman, I'm a junior. It'll be like me being a cradle robber if I go out with her."

That made me roll my eyes. "Then rob the frickin' cradle, man, if you like her. Besides, she'll turn fifteen next month, and you'll be..."

"Seventeen in April," Zexion finished for me.

"See? That's not so bad. Besides, it's not like you're in college and she's in middle school. _That's _robbing the cradle."

He nodded thoughtfully, finally buying into the idea I brought up. This plan was going way better than I thought it would. Usually, with my luck, it would blow up in my face.

"Hm, you know what? I think you have a point. I need someone who's free-spirited if not slightly insane. Because I know I'm screwed-up. With Xion, we could be kids from the asylum together...only without the straitjackets."

While he grinned at the thought, I dumbly responded with, "O...K."

"I'll tell you what," Zexion told me, his eyes shining now with something else. "Take Xion to Dairy Queen on Friday after school. I'll be there. Don't tell her, though. Just tell her I really liked the orange Crush, and it was the best one I ever had."

I nodded and grinned at the same time. "All right, she'll be happy. And I'll tell her about the soda."

I was ready to say goodbye to him, when Pence poked his head out behind the door he opened just a crack. "Hey, Zexion, Mr. Xigbar wants you to start on one of your music reviews now. Later, Namine."

That reminded me of something I wanted to tell him. "Hey, Zexion, trash that band for me. I and the rest of the universe may have heard one song by them, but I think it really sucks. Selphie loves it, though."

He mock scowled. "Well, Demyx dared me to. And to avoid bias, I had to listen to that atrocious album on iTunes. But, it's all for the sake of good music journalism. Hopefully, I'll get on _Rolling Stone _magazine one of these days. See ya."

It seemed like he had one more thought to get out in the open, because Zexion turned around to say, "By the way, glad you're friends with Riku. At least he's not alone eating crappy fries any more. I think you guys would be all right."

My eyebrow raised in confusion, I watched him shut the door. No way. Did this mean he wouldn't mind if his best friend and me would somehow, miraculously, get together? Well, sadly, Zexion could dream on. At least Riku forgave me enough to be friends with me. I should be grateful for that much and I was. If he even remotely liked me in that way...but my thoughts repeat themselves. They always do when it comes to him.

In order to initiate phase two of Operation: Cheer up Xion, I flipped through some of Mom's magazines like _Cosmopolitan _and _Vogue _and other girly stuff. I had to research what type and color of make-up went with eyes, cheeks, and other facial structures. I had to find the right make-up for Xion, so she could gain confidence in her own physical appearance. Considering she had plenty of confidence to spare, this shouldn't be a problem. Once my research was finished, I rounded up some of my mom's make-up to seriously commence phase two the next day. Well, being too much of a good girl, I asked Mom first if it was OK. She said if it was to do a friend a favor, then intentions were good. You bet they were. I had to make sure poor Xion wouldn't undergo another emotional crisis. Besides, she must look good for Zexion.

Friday afternoon, when school let out, I walked up to Xion's locker, asked her to go to the bathroom with me, and we went. After all, we chicks travel in packs or pairs if we're not so popular. Popularity is a state of mind anyway. So, as soon as we got inside, she bombarded me with questions.

"Why are we here? Is it bad news? Is it—?"

"Sister, your aura hasn't been that blue lately," I joked before adding, "I forgot to tell you earlier this week, but Zexion said the soda you gave him was the best he ever had."

She looked very hopeful. "Really?"

"Yep, now put on some make-up. We're going to Dairy Queen for a surprise."

Unfortunately, Xion was practically way too out-of-character to be saved. So, she did what a free-spirited, vegan, animal-loving, peaceful, calm hippie would do.

She went koo-koo for Cocoa Puffs _insane_.

"OhmyGod, ohmyGod, ohmyGod! Do I need a skirt, too? Are you setting me up? NO, NOT A VEGAN INTERVENTION!"

"Xion!" I shouted over her yelling. "Calm down. And why would I stage a vegan intervention? You avoid eating animals, something I can't imagine doing. You won't even touch chicken nuggets, even though they're not made from real chicken. Frankly, that's admirable."

Xion beamed from me bestowing generous praise on her. Hopefully, the operation wouldn't get so out-of-whack that it couldn't be saved.

However, she pointed at the make-up and said, "They test those on bunnies, you know."

I sighed, "Yes, I know. And they're idiots for that. It's the one thing that actually gives PETA the right to be angry. But, let's forget that for just an afternoon, OK? I did my make-up research, so this should look good on you. OK?"

"But, hippies don't believe in manufactured—"

"Just put on the damn make-up already!" I snapped. "Before you come up with more bad things."

Xion nodded furiously. "OK, if it'll make you happy."

Yes, my plan for her personal happiness would finally go forward. Victory!

As soon as Xion's make-up was applied by me (very carefully), we walked over to Dairy Queen. I then asked her about that vegan intervention comment.

She messed around with her fringed vest. "Well, Seifer and his friends did that as a prank when I was in seventh grade. In case you didn't know by now, I was picked on a lot in seventh grade."

"Yeah, well, Seifer's a loser jerk anyway. He's barely smart enough to tie his own shoes. Him being held back just proved it."

Xion grinned lazily. "I guess you're right. Now why are we going to DQ?"

"Like I said, it's a surprise."

And with perfect timing, we were there as I opened the door to the ice cream place.

Back to her floaty self, Xion remarked in an airy voice, "It's weird that I'll be eating ice cream in February. But, the Blizzard of the month does look pretty good."

Fidgeting with his white T-shirt (with a black tie to go with it!), Zexion stood up from the table. Once he noticed Xion's makeover, he very faintly blushed.

"Um, hey, Xion. How's it going?"

Her mouth dropped open, and I think I saw her hands start shaking. Hm, should I have been the one to set these two up on a date? Well, too late to look back now.

"Not a prank?" she mouthed to me, and I shook my head. I guess that incident she just told me about made her paranoid.

Then again, I think she couldn't believe that this was happening to her. I gave her a little nudge, and she almost collapsed. Then, she wore this anxious grin.

"Hey, Zexy, you look great."

Only she got away with calling him that, according to Demyx the other day. Heck, maybe he really did like her. He sure showed it through his awkward smile.

"Thanks, it was the best I owned. And I think we owe somebody."

Ah, not part of the operation, not part of the operation! Xion's mouth dropped even lower until I thought it would fall off entirely.

"Bye, guys, have a great time!" I grinned cheesily, waved, and left.

Needless to say, in spite of that, Operation: Cheer up Xion was a brilliant success.

* * *

**A/N: ****See how weird Zexion and Xion are? Perfect couple!**

**Please review, it'll make my day.**


	28. Just Friends?

**A/N: The humor is going to take a backseat again, but I think you will enjoy this chapter nonetheless. And yes, Wakka is supposed to be that much of a jerk in this story.**

**Disclaimer: I don't anything.**

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**Chapter 28: Just Friends?**

Soon, everyone in my grade at least found out that Xion and Zexion finally got together as an item. However, the rumors as to how it happened were ridiculous. Wakka told me about how Xion supposedly paid her current boyfriend twenty bucks to go out with her.

"Please, I know my own friend better than that. She would never pay any guy anything for whatever it is. Wakka, if you keep talking crap about my friends, I may very well have to kill you."

He burst out laughing. "With what? A gun or a machete?"

The machete crack came from the last time there was heavy gossip—me and Riku's argument.

I snarled, "Neither, I'll impale you with the sword from the frickin' stone. How's that?"

He shut up after that, that idiot sophomore. The only reason he's taking a usually freshman math class is because he was too dumb to get his credit in Highwind's class last year. Someday, he should learn to do things right the first time. I have since lost all patience with him, much less respect or even liking. Honestly, what does Sora see in him as a friend? So, naturally, his uncalled for comment put me in a bad mood by study hall. Axel noticed me glaring at the ceiling while Yuna noticed and flinched. Apparently, she still hasn't recovered from the time I pushed her against a locker. Haha, though, she had deserved it!

Anyway, Axel asked me, "Hey, Nam, you all right?"

I pretended to think deeply before I answered sarcastically, "Oh yes, Axel, I'm absolutely fine. Aside from the fact some stupid dumbass has got it in for me, I'm fine."

"Who?" He wasn't fazed by my bad mood.

"Wakka Mazuda," I growled.

"That kid's an ass all right. I wouldn't let him get to you, though. He's one of those dumb jocks who's only concerned about sports. Seems like he passes the time with trying to get under people's skin."

Nodding tersely, I analyzed some bird poem for English class. Since it was the beginning of March already, it was our stupid poetry unit. We hadn't even gotten to Poe yet, darn it, because mostly everyone in my class was like, "Oooh, it's too dark." Whatever, sissies.

Meanwhile, Axel tried to switch topics by looking at what I was writing down. He sighed dismally when he stared at his own mountain of homework.

"Damn junior exams," he muttered before adding with an evil grin, "Wait until your junior year, freshie. That's when _all _the fun stuff begins, including when you get to take the biggest tests ever before ACTs. Sadly, for yours truly, that's next year."

I grinned as I got considerably less irritable. "Sucks to be you, Axe. How are things with Roxas?"

His own smile fell off. "Good, good...great, in fact, things couldn't be better..."

"Or could they?" I dared him with my eyes to lie to me.

He couldn't. "No, they're not, because Rox wants me to take him to prom."

Hm, Axel never seemed to be the commitment shy type of guy to me. He did his homework (most of it), passed classes, and had been with Roxas since that kid's freshman year, apparently. Why was he shirking his loyalty now?

Putting the analysis aside, I asked him flatly, "OK, what's up?"

He moaned and pounded his head against his desk. "I haven't come out to my parents yet. They'll kick me out the first time I tell them, I know it. You should hear my dad's infamous homophobic rants. I've never been more ashamed to have him as a dad. And, after all the times he's screwed up, that's saying something!"

Poor dude. I could tell just through his tone alone that he sincerely cared about Roxas and that it pained him for his dad to be so closed-off to the idea of him being bi. All he wanted was to be happy, but certain things made him hold back on that complete happiness. It just wasn't fair, how a parent (or parents) kicks their kid out simply because he doesn't believe in the same things they do. Like marriage can be between _any _two people—it's true in my opinion.

I slowly patted his arm. "Then tell them. If they kick you out, they're no parents of yours."

"Good point. 'Sides, Mom's more likely to be on my side. As for Dad...maybe I could disown him instead of the other way around."

With that, Axel let out a dry chuckle, and I joined in for the sake of cheering him up. It worked a little, but I swear I thought I saw something wet in his eyes.

However, prom was in two months anyway, and tickets probably wouldn't be sold until April along with the signing-up for Grand March. By then, hopefully, Axe would sort his problems out. Meanwhile, a certain silver-haired god—I mean, guy—surprised me today in art class. We had gotten along perfectly well and everything, but I wasn't expecting this. And before you all squeal, no, he did not ask me out. That is more likely to be some schoolgirl fantasy of mine than anything else.

Casually, he told me, "So, Sora told me he's been to Kairi's house quite a few times now."

"Yep," I confirmed, shaking my head. "But, they're still not going out. With me and pretty much all my friends, we have this bet. Whoever can predict when they go out (or close to it) wins."

He chuckled, and here was that pleasant sound again sending chills up and down my spine. He needs to stop doing that before I get too hung up on my crush on him.

Fiddling around with his paintbrush, he said extremely casually, "So, how about you hang out at my place Saturday afternoon? You know, you're my friend and all."

Just friends? Darn. But, with that question, I almost fell out of my chair in shock. Roxas noticed this and said somewhat loudly, "I don't think the screws in the school chairs are _that _loose, Namine."

My face was a tomato. Yay for metaphors. Seriously, my face was beyond red.

In fact, I had no idea my face could produce that many shades of red. If I told Miss Gainsborough every single one, would I get extra credit?

"S—Sure, s—sounds awe—awesome," I stuttered like I had just returned from a winter's vacation in Siberia. "W—What t—time?"

He shrugged. "Meh, I don't care, whenever you feel like it."

Was his house that easily accessible? I didn't have to plan any _Ocean's 11_-ish heists? Could my mind get any more stupid with these questions?

Smoothing out my voice, I suggested, "I guess I'll come at two o'clock."

"Sounds good to me."

"Then it's a da—" Idiot, don't finish that sentence. "A time. By golly, it's a time."

As he smiled very subtly, the bell rang to let out for that period. I couldn't believe it! I would actually be going to Riku's house to hang out with him. It might not be a date, but hey, it was a start. I leaned over my locker door to tell Selphie the awesome news.

I grinned the biggest grin in a while. "Hey, Selph, guess what? Riku asked me to visit him this weekend!"

"Really?"

I nodded. Then, we both looked at each other.

"AHHHHH!"

We were holding hands and jumping up and down like crazy. People were staring at us.

At long last, we calmed down, though our shared excitement had yet to wear off. I still couldn't believe how slightly too hyper I was getting over this. It was only a visit, big deal. How come Riku made me so uncontrollably happy?

Being all casual and cool then, I told Selphie, "Riku is cool like that, though. We're buddies. We'll be playing video games, I'm sure."

"Still," Selphie laughed before continuing, "You're so lucky. He might like you."

I smiled vaguely, mysteriously. "He might."

Deep down, I still wasn't all that sure. If you could kill complexes...

* * *

Since Sora had to practice his driving, he decided to drop me off at Riku's that following Saturday. Once again, Mom had to come with.

"He's not as reckless as he was," she told me. "Hopefully, it won't take him long to—SORA, MAILBOX!"

He jerked to attention as he swerved the car out of the way. "OK, OK, yeesh."

I smirked. "Looks like he still has a way to go."

"It's harder than it looks, you know."

I nodded seriously to show him I only meant this as a joke. Besides, Sora already knew where Riku lived since he paid him a few visits. Good thing they were pals, because I had stupidly forgotten to ask Riku for his address. But, anyway, it was fine. I would get to hang out today.

And luckily, though Sora was driving, we survived. As he slowed the blue Dodge Charger (a different vehicle we own) down, he pointed out the house. This neighborhood wasn't too high-class, but it wasn't shabby either. The particular house Sora pointed to was a pale, almost sickly yellow, two stories, and looked small-ish but roomy. Basically, it looked like a decent place to settle down in.

"Well, bye," I told Sora and Mom before hopping out of the car. Suddenly nervous, I randomly wringed my shaking hands as I got to their front door step. Here goes nothing.

I knocked on the door, hoping someone would answer right away. Someone did...but it was a girl about four and a half feet with light blond hair arranged into pigtails.

She couldn't have been more than six years old, I thought while I heard a dog barking in the background. Innocently yet shyly, she looked up at me with big blue eyes.

"Are you Nami?" she asked in a rather adorable voice.

I grinned. "Yeah, I'm Namine. Is Riku home?"

Because, yes, I was afraid that he might have stood me up (though this was not a date) and decided to hang with his friends instead. I was worried.

However, the little girl used her surprisingly strong lungs to shout, "Riku, your girlfriend's here!"

I blushed very modestly and told Riku's sister, "He's not my boyfriend," as the sound of someone hurrying over could be heard from upstairs. It seemed like he almost tripped on his way down, but he managed to get there.

"Kayla," he sighed at her as he directed an embarrassed smile toward me. "She's not my girlfriend. She's just a friend, OK?"

She nodded and grinned slyly. "Yeah, we'll see."

"Don't make me tickle you."

Just as Kayla was about to run off, her big brother attacked her with tickling. Squealing with laughter, she almost fell down from having Riku's fingers tickle her ribcage, the easily most sensitive spot. I almost had to resist the urge to go "aw."

After a couple minutes, Riku stopped tickling his sister who then said, "I'll leave you two alone now. Watch out, Nami, he'll tickle you."

She ran up the stairs, humming a random song. Riku looked at me shyly.

"Please don't take that as innuendo."

"I wouldn't be sick enough to," I assured him before bursting into laughter. He meant his sister's last sentence. I think he was hoping his family wouldn't humiliate him while I was around. He motioned for me to follow him inside.

"My mom and stepdad are headed for the movies pretty soon, and they wanted to see you. Don't know why. Maybe they think you're my girlfriend, too," he told me, smiling.

His smile could definitely melt the hearts of practically every single girl in his grade and probably the school. I could imagine a whole line of them waiting for him to pick one of them. Honestly, I saw myself at the back of that line, completely overlooked. Making myself more comfortable, I took off my shoes and followed him to the dining room. A blonde lady whom Kayla probably inherited her looks from smiled warmly at me. Next to her stood a tall black-haired guy who looked about thirty-five, and he was almost intimidating with his height and arm tattoos. But, he grinned like a teenager, so he must be cool.

"Hello, Namine, it's great to meet you." Riku's mom shook my hand. "I'm Lyla, and this is Dave."

Dave took his turn shaking my hand. "It's weird that Riku hasn't talked about you very much. He's shy, though, but I'm thinking he's in love."

"Dave," Riku groaned quietly, trying not to chuckle nervously. "Could you two go to the theater already? It's getting awkward."

Mrs. Aoki (I didn't really want to call her Lyla yet) hugged her son, who looked like he wanted to die. "Sure thing, son. Just don't try anything with our guest, or you're grounded. OK?"

Dave took it from there. "Yeah, we had the talk already. No fooling around at your age, though. I've watched the news too many times not to be aware of what those kids are up to."

"Sure, sure, you can trust me," Riku murmured, beyond humiliated and really red around the ears.

I figured the best way to handle this situation was to pretend that nothing happened. As the door shut behind the adults, I said calmly, "They're nice."

"Yeah, but totally embarrassing. They have a right to worry, though. Any more, guys can be dirtbags. Well, not every guy is, but you've heard stories, right?"

I nodded firmly. "Definitely, and it's disgusting how some dudes will do anything to get laid."

"More like get some of their own, but yeah...I'm not like that, so don't worry."

This was getting awkward, and I hadn't been here ten minutes yet. Curious about the family pet I heard barking, I asked, "So, do you guys have a dog?"

Relieved that the sex-ed conversation was over, he smiled. "Yeah, he's about a year old."

Raising his voice slightly, he called, "Hey, Reggie!" and a border collie eagerly ran inside the dining room, heading straight toward me. The hyper Reggie stood up on his hind legs and placed his paws on my knees before trying to lick my face.

"Down, boy! She doesn't want your germs," Riku joked, grinning and patting his dog on the head.

"Aw, I love collies," I cooed, scratching Reggie behind the ears.

There was a look in Riku's eyes that I couldn't quite decipher. "He can be as hyper as all heck. I walk him every morning, and he can get pretty crazy. But, I've trained him."

He patted the dog on the head again before he took out a bag of Cheetos (the skinny kind, my favorite!), which we shared between us. We talked about school for a little while, about how homework was torture and all that. Then, we talked about movies.

"What's your favorite?" I asked, popping a Cheeto in mid-air before catching it in my mouth.

He was very shy about that as he put his hands in his jeans pockets. "It's _Star Wars_."

"Come on, there's no shame in that! Being a nerd is fun. And I'll prove it, too."

I started singing the "Numa, Numa" song at the top of my lungs while borrowing Xion's interpretive dance moves. Riku started laughing while I did air guitar at one point.

"Are all you nerds psychotic?" he inquired of me, his pretty eyes shining like stars.

"Pretty much, yeah, but it's _fun_," I repeated. "That's the point. It's about _living_."

The sparkle went out in his eyes as he thoughtfully stared at me, taking in what I just said. Then, shrugging, he told me, "I want to play some X-Box 360 game. You want to play?"

I grinned. "Hellz yeah, I'll probably kick your butt."

He smirked evilly. "I'd like to see you try."

"It's on!"

We played this two-player action game that involved battles between two characters we picked. Knowing how to play X-Box thanks to my brother, I was beyond ready. So, we engaged in epic gaming combat, each of us hoping we could beat the other.

Toward the end of our seventh consecutive battle, we had each won three times. This seventh one would be the tie breaker. As I was ready to beat Riku's character, I sighed and said in a fake sad tone, "I didn't want it to come to this, Riku."

In on the joke, he replied, "I know."

"There can only be one mistress of the universe."

"Guess you're right. I surrender!"

"Haha, guys always do, eventually," I jokingly sneered as I killed his character.

We glanced at each other before we started laughing all over again.

At one point, we were immaturely messing with each other's controllers before our hands brushed. I blushed and so did he. As soon as I planned to resume the video game, I felt his hand gently moving some of my hair from my face.

"You're a lot of fun, Namine," he whispered, his eyes softening.

Flushing slightly, I murmured, "Thanks," before I leaned against his touch. It was too irresistibly nice and warm. Could he be any sweeter? My eyes fluttered closed, and I could feel him getting closer and closer.

Our lips almost touched.

"Riku, Nami! _Spongebob_'s on! Will you watch it with me?" Kayla asked.

So, we didn't kiss.

"Let's go. Watching it with her isn't that bad," Riku assured me, smiling faintly.

I think the both of us regretted what didn't happen.

* * *

**A/N: ****Oh, they were thisclose, weren't they? XD I probably won't update again until Tuesday. That way, I can catch up on typing. In the mean time, please review.**


	29. Rock 'n Roll High School

**A/N: Title inspired by one of my favorite Ramones songs! XD And toward the end is somewhat inspired by when Harry won the Quidditch Cup for Gryffondor in the third book. Nerdy, I know. But, stuff happens.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own a thing.**

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**Chapter 29: Rock 'n Roll High School**

Since that memorable first visit to Riku's house, I couldn't stop dreaming about him. That almost kiss must have really affected me. I guess it was because I honestly had wanted him to.

But, who was I kidding? Maybe he would refuse to see me as anything more than a friend. I had to be content with that, or else it was going to bring me down. Homework pile seemed only to increase as the days went on, so I had to have Marluxia and Larxene tutor me again.

"So, that's how it works, huh?" I asked them, referring to the quadratic formula.

"Well, yeah," Larxene lazily summed up, looking at her nails. "It was hard for me at first, but it got really easy. Probably because you have to do it so much in the upper grades."

Marluxia threw me the seventh volume of _Death Note_. "This volume's pretty depressing, Nam."

Larxene gave him an affectionate smile while she rolled her eyes at the same time. Something about those two clicked so well. I could practically feel that kind of chemistry with me and Riku.

"Yeah, I know. L dies, right?"

"Shhh!" He placed a finger to his lips. "That's a spoiler to our non-anime person over there."

The blonde chick shrugged. "Just wasn't that into anime, Marl. Sorry."

Marluxia and I exchanged looks. "Someone needs converting, Namine."

"I think so. May I suggest _Fruits Basket_, Larx? It's like a chick flick."

Her smile was mysterious. "I'll consider it."

I took that as a no, but oh well. Beggars can't be choosers. Did I even use that phrase right? Well, anyway, I told my friends what I'd do today. It involved Sora and Kairi and not-so-divine intervention. Yep, I was going to be Jane Austen's Emma again and play matchmaker. And I had never seen myself as one before this year. I was brutally honest with my brother about this.

"Ask Kairi out, man, for the love of Fred Weasley."

Yeah, I had a crush on that character while reading Harry Potter. But, God, I was so devastated with the seventh book...

He looked ready to panic. "What? No way, you can't be serious!"

"Do it or I'll punch you," I told him in my stern sisterly voice.

Not threatened by what I said, Sora continued to pack his textbooks and all he needed in his bag. "You're bluffing."

"Like heck I am." I pulled back my arm, prepared to punch him directly in the face. It was time for him to face the facts. He had to ask Kairi out if he really liked her.

He blushed nervously at the thought, so he submitted, "K, you had to do what you had to do."

Making sure he didn't chicken out, I followed close behind him as he oddly shuffled toward Kairi's locker. The redhead was talking to Selphie when she looked eagerly up at Sora.

"Hey, Sora, what's up?" she asked him, pushing back strands of her hair.

He took a deep breath. "Will you go out with me?"

I bet he felt the whole world stop just because he asked that one question to her. Sora smiled at her, truly smiled without any awkwardness, hoping she would say yes. I could tell he was scared to death at the same time, though. My brother, the resident stud muffin of this past summer, was worried over something small like this.

Kairi's smile was rather big. "Yeah, sure. I'll definitely go out with you, Sora."

Relief spread over his face. "Awesome."

Meanwhile, I glanced at my friends who came up one by one. "Who called it? It's March 21st, last day before spring break."

Roxas came up to me while raising his hand so high that Axel lifted him up somewhat, so I could see it. "I called March 21st at 3:15."

I checked my watch. It said 3:20. "Only five minutes off, but you won."

"What'd I win?"

I grinned evilly. "Absolutely nothing!"

Axel smacked his forehead. "Come on, Namine, at least give him something."

"All right, all right. How about $20?"

Roxas held his thumb up. "I'll take it."

In disbelief, Sora spluttered out, "You guys betted on when we'd get together?"

Everyone nodded as Zexion said what we were all thinking, "It's been obvious from the get go."

* * *

Our spring break lasted two weeks, and the weekend after Easter was the locally known Lobster Festival over at Destiny. Obviously, seafood's very popular at my hometown, especially the lobster. Anyway, every year, there's a big talent show at the festival. Actually, no, it's a battle of the bands competition. You have no idea how many people from different towns and cities come out here just to eat lobster among other things. Then again, there's a lot of stuff to do, and people keep coming back. I couldn't wait until our band The Nobodies would reunite to play one of our original songs. And Dad, thankfully, wouldn't be on a business trip. So, when he came to pick me and Sora up, I was excited about the competition later that afternoon. We'd worked really hard, and I wanted the jam sessions to pay off so badly.

While Dad drove us to his house to wait a few hours before that awesome competition, he mentioned like it was no big deal, "I quit my job last month."

Most kids would be worried. We both said, "Congrats, Dad."

"Thanks. But, I've saved plenty of money over the years, so your Grandma Kyoko and Grandpa Akio won't be too mad at me," he assured us, a roguish grin on his face.

"So, any plans for a new job, Dad?" I asked him.

"Hm...no, not any time soon. Well, unless you count me making artwork."

My eyes got really big. "No way, I never asked you if you're artistic."

He shrugged as he raked back his black hair and focused on the road ahead. "Well, who do you think you got it from? Sure, I guess your mom was a little artsy back in the day. But, back when we first dated, she had to drag me away from walls with graffiti on them. I always thought street art was so cool."

So did I. I settled back in the car seat, satisfied with my life and happy to know Dad had really wanted to be an artist. For some reason, it was...nice. To realize that there had been someone all along I could talk about art with was amazing. I listened to "Carpal Tunnel of Love" by FOB with renewed enthusiasm. Plus, listening to pop-punk would provide rad inspiration for our band's performance later that day. And then a little Ramones music never hurts either, the punk band that launched the whole thing into existence after the forefathers before them.

For extra inspiration and general support over my band, Dad had Sora and I watch _Metal: A Headbanger's Journey_ that he just happened to record a couple weeks ago on Tivo. It's a pretty good rock documentary.

"Now, Namine, you and your friends better win the battle of the bands, or I will be disappointed," he told me as he prepared making his version of ratatouille.

"Good fatherly advice for her, Dad," Sora replied mock sarcastically as I grinned cockily.

I said to both of them, "Don't worry, guys. We'll win. Or I hope we do. Second place again for a third time won't be so bad...I guess..."

I was hoping that The Nobodies at least ranked—you know, first, second, third, etc. all the way to tenth or so.

Sora pretended to glare at me, but I knew he was getting ready to give me an encouraging pep talk. "Win first place or I'll punch you."

"Hey, hey! It's not like with you and Kairi. It's picky judges."

"Well, perform the hell out of whatever song you're gonna do. OK? This is you guys' reunion for God's sakes! Impress those picky idiots. You guys are original."

I was truly touched by his speech. "Sora, you better shut up, or I'm gonna cry."

"Yeah, well..."

Imitating Josh off _Drake and Josh_, I yelled, "Hug me, brotha!"

We did hug but only very, very briefly, since teenagers hugging (especially siblings) wasn't cool usually. It was so awesome I got support even from him. And, quite frankly, Sora never used to care about my band or the music we made. I think he was stupid enough to think we were a poser girl punk band. No way in heck.

"Too bad you didn't mention this to your friends or Kairi or Riku," Sora told me off-handedly as my heart pounded from hearing Riku's name. "It would have been sweet if they came. I doubt they would today."

Almost spaced out, I replied in a detached sort of way, "No, they probably wouldn't come. They probably have other plans anyway. Who knows? Riku might be going out with someone."

"Where'd the heck did you come up with that one?" Sora asked, extremely confused.

I didn't know. My complex? I should not have been thinking about him right before a band competition. I had to get pumped for this. A nervous bassist would ruin the rhythm of the band's song. I knew that better than anyone. So, around two o'clock, Dad drove us a couple of miles outside of town, where the festival was perfectly located near a beach. Once we got out of the car, I couldn't stop the smile coming to my face. I could see the ocean waves from the parking lot, lapping against the shore with the occasional crash. It reflected the blue of the sky as well as the bright yellow sun. It was absolutely beautiful.

"Uh, hello? Namine, let's get something to eat real quick," Sora insisted.

In disbelief, I yelled at him. "But, we just had lunch two hours ago!"

And that ratatouille had been delicious, even though the traditional recipe calls for eggplant as one of the ingredients. All the same, it tasted good, but it was also very filling. I couldn't believe Sora wanted fatty festival food already.

He shrugged as he purposely walked faster than me. "So? I'm hungry again!"

I rolled my eyes. "You're always hungry. Go on ahead, I gotta meet up with my friends."

"Kill it out there." He grinned.

"We'll try," I said evenly, but I was feeling pretty confident with my band. For some reason, I had a better feeling than usual about the competition.

Luckily, it didn't take long to find my friends. In a crowded place like this, though, I guess it isn't so hard when you spot a certain friend jumping up and down while doing splits in mid-air. I swear Rikku is made of rubber. Shaking my head at her antics, I headed over to the group who had just gotten out of Paine's mom's SUV and were unloading their gear.

"Save that for the show, Rikku," I told her then grinned. "Hey, guys!"

"Hey yourself," Garnet greeted back, clutching tightly to her mike and its stand. She was randomly protective of those things. "So, you still want to do that one song?"

Paine glanced at her irritably and flicked back her hair. "We better. It's about half an hour til showtime. And we got to set up. _And_..."

"Paine, chill, we're going to be playing sixth. Plus, they usually give people five minutes' set-up time," Rikku assured her.

Paine sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose, something she usually did when stressed and/or overwhelmed. "Sorry. We just haven't done this in a while. At least _I _haven't. So, we're gonna do 'Outcast', right?"

"No, duh, Paine. Plus, it's our best work. We agreed on this ages ago. So, anyway, have you guys heard anything about who we're up against?" I asked.

Garnet outright laughed as soon as I brought it up. "Oh, apparently, Rinoa Heartilly's little brother has a band called The Ninja Stars, and they're doing a cover of 'Paradise City'."

I pretended I got a headache. "Oh no...Why does it always have to be Guns N' Roses?"

"Yeah, there's hardly any bands with original material," Rikku added. "But, we do have to watch out for a band."

Uh-oh, looked like there was one band that might try to outdo us. There always seemed to be one every year that usually was the one that ended up winning. Go figure.

"Between all the Aerosmith and even Green Day—yes, Namine, faint away—cover bands, there is one pesky band called Teens in Paradise. And they're a..."

"A what? A what, Paine?" I freaked, shaking her by the shoulders.

"A boy band trying to come off as punk. But, they have hardly any punk cred to speak of."

"NOOOOOOO!" I yelled overdramatically before Garnet revived me.

Slapping me in the face, she told me, "Pull yourself together, Nam. Deep breaths, deep breaths...Good."

Rikku came up to me with a hug that was supposed to be comforting but was once again a chokehold. "It'll be all right. Besides, they're nothing compared to us, even though they have original songs. And they have a huge female following at Destiny High. And...and...I'm dating their drummer!"

The rest of us did a double take at her. "Whaaat?"

The blonde girl then acted shy. "Well, yeah...He didn't really want to be in that band, but they had try-outs at their garage. He only got in because he's one of the best drummers in the school. He's way more punk than those other sissies, I swear!"

"Fraternizing with the enemy, that's all that is. Bad Rikku, bad!" Paine scolded.

I pulled her back. "Calm down, O Goth One. It's gonna be OK. Remember, deep breaths..."

So, about half an hour later, the battle of the bands show was set to start, and I met up with Dad and Sora one last time before I would head over to the rest of The Nobodies.

"You'll be the best bassist out there, sweetheart," Dad told me, trying to give me confidence but just ended up embarrassing me. "Kill them out there."

"Dad, you're sounding like a criminal," Sora warned him.

He raised his eyebrows. "Um, yeah, sorry. Seriously, kill them."

"My hands won't be clean, I promise." I hugged them both before I set off.

As soon as I joined my friends, the show had just started, and so we watched.

We gave sometimes downright mean critiques of the performing bands. There was this one group in their late teens that killed "Dream On." And not in a good way.

"Somebody get them off the stage before I cry." Garnet wiped at imaginary tears.

"No, somebody from Aerosmith needs to sue them," I remarked cattily.

Then, there was a band made up of forty-year-old dudes who played "Three Little Birds" by Bob Marley. It was the strangest sounding cover song I heard in my life. Another group followed that was actually pretty good performed "American Idiot." I just wish people knew that Green Day had made other albums in their two-decade career!

A girl group our age that probably went to my friends' school too after them played, sadly, a Miley Cyrus song. Don't know which one, don't care.

Paine shook her head at them in disgust. "They're the resident ditzy girls at our school. Of course they would perform that! Not a good day for the judges, I bet."

"Nope," I agreed. "If their ears are anything like mine, they're bleeding."

"Hi, Trevor, hi!" Rikku greeted her boyfriend, again jumping up and down.

We all dragged her down simultaneously. It would have been funny if not for the fact these guys were our stiffest competition with a whole fangirl base. Poor Trevor. He was the only guy from Teens in Paradise I felt sorry for. His so-called bandmates looked like they were soaking it up. One of them, we noticed, got into a hot and heavy make-out session with one of his female fans. Sick!

Rikku simply sighed in a pitiful way, probably feeling sorry for Trevor. "He said he's going to ditch this band after this. Oh, and he said if this band had been more serious about the music like they pretended to be, he would have stayed."

"Those other guys used trickery, hm?" I asked skeptically, though I was looking suspiciously at the rest of the band. "That's pretty low."

The guys off that band played a song of their own, entitled (yes, this is the honest-to-gosh truth) "My Punk Rocker Babe." Now, you know why they have that huge female fan base. We, even Rikku, pretended to gag once the three minute (sadly) song was over as a chorus of girly shrieks and screams was deafening our fragile ears.

"You know, their lead singer almost sounded like Nick Jonas," Garnet said as a fake compliment but was actually scathing. And she was normally so sweet.

Rikku sighed pitifully yet again. "Yeah, he did. Poor Trevor, he should have quit ages ago. I tried to convince him, I really did."

"Oh, that's the greatest tragedy of the year," Paine snapped sarcastically before adding more calmly, "Let's go, guys, it's our turn."

I grinned, ready to take on the world. "Yeah, let's show Teens in Paradise what we're made of!"

"And that's _not _sugar, spice, and everything nice." Rikku smirked.

We set up our instruments while Garnet set up her mike and tapped it real quick to make sure it worked. Because if no one could hear us, we'd be screwed. I was really psyched over the song we chose for the contest. "Outcast" was a song that subtly protested against trying to be popular and just be yourself, even if it means you're an outcast. It's a cliché message, but we felt like it was something worth repeating. Who knows? Maybe we could inspire some kids out there.

The DJ who was basically the "host" for the competition, a college guy named Vaan Martin who worked at awesome 98.9 The Mosh, came up to us.

"You girls all set up?" he asked for confirmation.

We tried not to drool too much. "Yep."

He asked to borrow Garnet's mike for a second to make the announcement. "OK, guys, the next band up is The Nobodies with their song 'Outcast'!"

People were cheering, and I thought I heard Sora shout, "Yeah, Namine's band!"

Stupid comment, but he's my brother, and I loved him for that. So, with a "one, two, three, four," it was time to jam for real. Like we practiced.

"_Being what they want to be_

_Is not all that's cracked up to be_

_Being what they want to be_

_That's not to be for me_

_And if they try to tell ya_

_That they're the group to follow_

_Just don't listen to them and be_

_An outcast_

_Never live a lie_

_Outcast_

_Even if that's not so cool_

_Outcast_

_That's what I want to be"_

We had two more verses, and of course, that chorus repeating after that, but that was the whole gist of our song. Paine, the genius, actually co-wrote it with me. So, of course, that was one of our more recent songs. I was really proud of myself that my best friend put enough faith in me for my songwriting skills or lack thereof. But, I'm modest. Anyway, as soon as we finished the set, we unbelievably received a standing ovation. Even the judges were standing! Hopefully, I thought, that kiddie group The Ninja Stars wouldn't beat us. Or, worse, Teens in Paradise.

Vaan Martin even got excited as he shouted, "Give it up for The Nobodies!"

We all grinned and waved at the crowd before getting off the stage. We generated some great energy.

I was so high on life after that, I didn't even honestly listen to the rest of the bands. I was beyond thrilled to be here at this competition with my friends, and we were liked...It was beyond anything I'd ever felt before. Just the rush of adrenaline...wow. Soon, before any of us knew it, it was time for the unveiling of the top three bands, announced by Vaan, of course. Third place was some band that apparently covered The Ramones.

"Second place goes to..."

If we were second again, I swear...

"Teens in Paradise with 'My Punk Rocker Babe'!"

Vaan tried sounding enthusiastic but sounded like he epicly failed with that.

"Great drumming, Trevor!" Rikku cheered her bleached haired boyfriend encouragingly while he gave her a relieved smile. Finally, he could quit his band. As for his other bandmates, they tried hard not to show their sulky disappointment. That's what they got for having too many fangirls! So, did this mean...? But, surely not, we were so underrated by everyone. We might not have ranked at all.

"And the moment you have all been waiting for. This band can easily be considered a crowd favorite and was the judges' top pick. The winner of the Lobster Festival's Battle of the Bands competition is..."

We all held our breath, and Paine was actually shaking from suppressed emotions. And my BFF is usually never like that, trust me. I thought we would cut off each other's circulation...

"The Nobodies with their song 'Outcast'!"

All of us screamed at the exact same time while the crowd roared their appreciation. For once, we ranked first place. We practically leaped on the stage while Vaan gave us the gold trophy and congratulated us. As we got off stage, we hugged each other and screamed, "We won! We won!"

And Paine, our band founder, was actually crying (gasp!) and taking turns hugging each of us. It was definitely euphoric. It just felt so good to be alive at that moment.

Arguably, this was probably one of the best days of my life.

* * *

**A/N: ****I would suggest Metal: A Headbanger's Journey for people who are into metal like I am if you haven't seen it. It's really good. This guy interviews the coolest people ever in my opinion. Like Alice Cooper! And Bruce Dickinson from Iron Maiden! But, yeah, I'm randomly into old-school metal. It's something I'm proud of. Drake and Josh reference...I had to do it, I still love that show even though it's been cancelled for so long. Sigh. And for some reason, I could see Vaan in AU as some college kid who works at a radio station. Unlike a similar guy where I live, Vaan in this one is actually likeable and is into punk. Real punk. How cool is that?**


	30. Does it Matter?

**A/N: I apologize for the cussing in this chapter. But, something happens that upsets Axel and other people. You'll see what I mean. By the way, I know I fast forward a bit in this chapter, but it was the only way to make it eventful.**

**Disclaimer: I don't anything off KH except games and manga. Though merchandise doesn't count in this instance.**

* * *

**Chapter 30: Does it Matter?**

After our big win, my hometown friends and I celebrated by going out for pizza, Dad's treat. Victory would probably taste sweet on our tongues for many weeks afterward. I really didn't want to go back to school after that one amazing weekend. By then, it was April, and I just wanted school to be over with for the year. I didn't care about prom and neither did any of my friends. Even Zexion was planning to hold off until senior year when he could take Xion. Well, actually, Axel wanted to go with Roxas, but he was seriously apprehensive about it. Unfortunately, prom just happened to be one of the things that popped up during our conversation the Sunday before the end of break, when Luxord came over for dinner.

"So," Luxord started saying. "Are you kids going to prom?"

Sora sighed a little sadly at that question, because I knew how badly he wanted to take Kairi. But, they were sophomores, so they had to wait.

"I'm too young and so's my girlfriend," he grudgingly admitted, jabbing a piece of roast pork with his fork.

I didn't feel the need to be half so cynical. "I don't really want to go, personally."

"Same situation as Sora, Namine?" Mom looked up from eating her salad.

Hating to talk about personal feelings, I replied vaguely, "You might say that."

I never expected to like Riku so much, but I'm afraid I fell like crazy.

Again, it's not like I stood a chance, what with girls with better personalities or better bodies or better looks. He could have his pick, because he was just that attractive enough. What the hell would he want with a girl like me? Hm, let's see, I'm five foot five, way big blue eyes, a total klutz, quiet, not very large in terms of, um, bust size...Seriously, he'd be crazy to consider me.

"So, Luxord, how was your Easter?" I asked, pretending I wasn't having these thoughts.

"British," he joked. "No, it was fine and all. My family can't wait til summer and the football season."

Sora looked like a confused idiot for a few seconds. "But, that's not until—oh, you mean soccer?"

"We actually think you Americans are backwards," Luxord said very lightly, amused.

As Mom's boyfriend, Sora and I genuinely like Luxord Myers now—I mean, at least we approve of him. And he's not the jerk type of guy I once thought Mom capable of dating. I don't know, I guess I could see him as a future stepdad. I just hope they don't break up any time soon. So, spring break was over, much to my disappointment. Because then, the teachers decided to torture us with so much homework, I thought I was going to get permanent writer's cramp. The only type of homework I enjoyed was art in which we had to sketch a person with the person there when we drew their face. I chose Selphie, since I hadn't hung out with her in a while. By then, it was almost prom ticket buying time as well as Grand March sign-up, around mid-April or so.

The three of us decided that since we could officially go off campus at this point, we could talk about the project somewhere else. The nearest restaurant by walking distance was Subway, which was especially fine with resident vegan Xion. So, we were about to leave, and I decided to tell Selphie on the way out anyway. That way, we could just enjoy our time at Subway without thinking too much about school.

"So, you know, I could just drop by your house and draw your face. Then, we could eat cookies," I told Selphie cheerfully.

She nodded. "Yeah, that'd be great. But, are you sure you don't want to draw Riku's face? He's really hot, you know."

And so he was, which made me worry whether if Selphie liked him in that way or not. Of course, I put that thought out of my mind as soon as it came. Stupid of me, really, to venture the possibility. Selphie was too loyal a friend, my first friend ever in Kingston. She even gave me my first cat, and Jiji was getting bigger now. He would be adult sized in another year or so. Anyway, I knew she would never like a guy she knew I liked.

"He is hot, but no. I'll get too nervous, and my hand will start shaking, I swear."

Xion smiled dazedly, and she patted my shoulder. "Aw, my sister is in love!"

"Not in love! That's for college kids," I grumbled. "Just in...like, deep, deep like."

We were about to head out the door when we heard shouting. "What the hell?"

Then again, I think the sign-up for Grand March could have started yesterday, and I tuned it out along with the other morning announcements. Yeah, probably. I saw Mr. Ansem come down the hallway with Axel practically livid beside him. The redhead seemed at a loss for words, he was so enraged. Roxas, who sat on one of the benches waiting, looked on with a concerned expression on his face. Mr. Ansem only looked ice-cold and impassive.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Iwasaki, but I'm afraid that what you implied when you and Mr. Shiro signed up for Grand March goes against policy."

"What? So I can't go to prom with him?" Axel yelled at the top of his lungs, his face so scary dark red. I had never seen him so angry before. He was usually relaxed and calm.

In the coldest tone possible (this man was entirely incapable of any human sympathy or compassion, I swear), Mr. Ansem responded with, "I'm afraid not. Good day, Mr. Iwasaki, and my apologies to you and Mr. Shiro."

However, our VP wasn't sorry at all, and I felt a surge of anger boiling in my blood. I wanted to scream to him about the injustice of this, but I couldn't say a word. I couldn't, and I was normally someone who held my own. I numbly stood there with Xion and Selphie, awestruck at what we had witnessed. Looking down at the floor, I regretfully wished I had done something. Usually, I made sure my friends were protected and happy.

Beyond furious at this point, Axel punched his fist against the wall while poor Roxas slowly came up to him. The blond guy patted him on the shoulder.

Still ignoring this moving gesture, Axel shouted, "Damn it! I always knew that guy was a bastard, but he's gone way too freaking far this time!"

"Axel—"

"No, Roxas, don't try to make me see reason or whatever. This is just the icing on top of this damn hell cake of mine. It's bad enough that last week I came out to my parents and dear ole Dad got pissed. Now this...it's...DAMN IT!"

He started punching the wall again then pounded his head against it. I swear to God he might have been about to cry. Poor guy definitely had a bad day.

Not caring what anybody else thought, Roxas outright hugged Axel as we stepped closer to them to find out what we could do. Because there was no way in the world I could leave this problem to just the two of them. This would be an effort.

"It's OK, Axel, I'll just...go with Yuffie, I guess. And you could take Selphie or someone, and we might be able to sneak in a slow dance."

With a determined look on my face, I told them, "No, you guys are going to prom together or so help me God."

My redheaded friend laughed sarcastically. "Yeah, how? You heard him. It goes against policy. So, I guess Roxas' plan will have to be the one we go by."

For once, I wasn't the solution person. I had no clue, especially if there were lousy strict adult officials involved. Options were limited.

Surprisingly, however, Xion stepped up to the plate. "You could write to the school board or something. Or have your parents write."

Selphie sighed in a dismal way. "Not sure if that might work, Xion. I mean, it might have back in 1970 or something but not now. Besides, there could be adults on the board just like Ansem. Adults who don't seem to have one ounce of emotion."

I hated it when Selph spoke the truth all deadpan like that. She was right.

However, what Xion brought up seemed to have caused the gears in Roxas' head to turn. Thankfully, Roxas Shiro was one of the best and brightest students in his class, so I knew he could think of something. Axel noticed and looked at him hopefully.

"What you thinking, Rox? Are you the man with the plan?"

He nodded confidently. "Sure am. Listen, I say we start a petition, and you and I take turns with it. If we send that to the school board, we might have a shot. Because if we show that other people don't care about two dudes out on a prom date, they could believe us. Then, VP Ansem's word would be no good."

Axel smiled evilly. "That'll be one way to bring his evil plot to hell."

The rest of us agreed with Roxas' idea. Selphie declared it was genius.

* * *

As soon as the next day came, Roxas arrived with a petition paper, and he made sure it looked professional, all lined and made up of at least four of these on a clipboard. He was willing to go the extra mile. Besides, I checked the rulebook, and it said nothing against coming up with petitions. One loophole Mr. Ansem was sure to be unhappy with. I'm proud to say I was one of the first people to sign, and Axel actually hugged me out of appreciation. I could tell how much going to prom together meant to these guys. It was supposed to be a night to remember, not one of separation that'd be painful. Later that morning, apparently, Roxas had traded the clipboard off to Axel, who idly put it on his desk during study hall. Reluctantly, he did his homework, but he kept looking furtively at it.

"Dude," I pointed out to him while writing the rough draft to my (mercifully) last essay of the year. "Try to get some names. See? Roxas has, like, thirty people down already."

He sighed heavily and gave me a look that usually meant he craved a cigarette. But, this time, I knew this craving was way deeper than that. It was for my understanding.

"Look, Nam, Roxas is OK with being gay. I'm only halfway there. You should have been there when I told my parents. Well, Mom wasn't that bad. She actually hugged me. Dad...Well, he said something like 'you're no son of mine,' and then he nearly knocked his chair over getting up."

I muttered, "Damn," before saying aloud, "Sometimes, love is worth the sacrifice."

I know, deep words coming from someone who's never known romance in her entire life. But, I could tell Axel seemed to cling to those words as his joking face was the most serious I'd seen all year. So, he got up to offer the petition to Mr. Xemnas.

"Mr. Xemnas," he said gravely. "I want you to sign this. It's a petition that will state that Roxas and I will go to prom _together_. As a couple."

Mr. Xemnas came up with his answer rather quickly. "Mr. Ansem told you two no, I suppose? Hm, normally I don't believe in politics interfering with school..."

I held my breath, crossing my fingers under my desk.

"But, I will have to make an exception. Mr. Iwasaki, I will sign your petition and pass it around to the class."

Everyone in my study hall clapped except Yuna who frowned and looked pouty.

"I think it's wrong," she said snobbishly. "Same-sex marriage. I don't like it. There's no way I'm signing that."

I gave her my deadliest Death Glare of Doom. "Sorry you're so bitter enough that you aren't old enough to go to prom with your jock boyfriend yet. But, Yuna, the times they are a-changin'. So sign it. Besides, they're not getting married, idiot, they want a good time at prom. If you can't handle that, I'll do much more to you than push you against a locker."

And yes, half the class heard my tirade but clapped anyway. Yuna paled a gazillion shades. Everyone who hadn't signed yet signed the petition, and Axel was soon back to his seat.

He gave me a flashy grin. "Insulting someone you don't agree with is the highest form of flattery."

I smiled back and giggled slightly at the joke. "For you, maybe, but it's not common, I'll say that much. Besides, you deserve the best out of life, Axe."

"Yeah, now if I can just get that Harley..."

He was kidding of course, but I think all those signatures boosted his confidence, like there were that many people who believed in him. I bet he felt very loved. By art class, he traded the petition off with Roxas who had people sign then. Yuffie was first.

"That Mr. Ansem's gonna eat his words. Against policy, my ass!" she told us spiritedly.

I smiled at her. "Sounds wrong, doesn't it? Maybe Mr. Ansem won't be veep any more after this."

Maybe that was the hidden ultimate goal. Anyway, when the clipboard got to Riku, he asked me what this was about. I told him. He looked, for once, thoroughly pissed.

"I can't believe it," he half-snarled. "We're kids! What the hell are we gonna do if some of us happen to be gay? Roxas, I've known you a long time. I'm signing this thing for you and Axe and to give Mr. Ansem hell."

I was really moved by Riku's impassioned statements as Miss Gainsborough (yet another teacher!) signed it. It showed he brotherly loved and cared for his friends. I smiled softly at hm before he caught me.

"What is it?" he asked me, his tone much softer as he looked in my eyes.

I shook my head but still smiled and whispered, "You're so amazing."

Somehow, I think he heard me. I hope he liked the compliment.

* * *

**A/N: ****I don't think same-sex couples at prom goes against policy at my school, but it still happens in other schools. That's why I brought it up...ish. I don't really want to get too political here. However, that's what I personally believe: that it doesn't matter if you're gay, straight, or bi. We're all people, gosh dang it. Plus, I'm not saying that those against it are like Yuna-even though Yuna is a horrible person in this story-so please don't think that.**

**Oh, and another thing. There technically are no villains in this story, though I'd say Ansem (Ansem the Wise, but I wouldn't call him that in this story) is pretty close. I based him on making the insensitive VP, because I've looked at many fanfic authors' profiles, usually the ones who wrote for the KH fandom. And they usually said that Ansem the Wise was one of their least favorite characters. So, I thought, what the heck? Make him The Man that the kids will have to stand up against.**

**OK, rant over. How did you like the chapter?**


	31. The End of the Road

**A/N: This chapter is purposely short to let something very realistic sink in. I know, I know, all the drama is happening toward the end of the story. But, you know, school drama always seems to be the worst at the end of the year, I notice. Heh, even at Hogwarts, it's like that. XD But, anyway, not really much humor here at all.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything KH.**

* * *

**Chapter 31: The End of the Road**

Roxas and Axel sent their petition to the school board along with a letter explaining why they collected signatures in the first place. It was professionally written by Axel, actually, since he was the older one. Plus, he was talented at persuasion. The local newspaper published the outcome of their rebellion against Mr. Ansem in a way. But, it turned out that the school board seemed to disagree with the vice-principal of the high school for once, despite his six-figure salary. It also didn't hurt that, according to Roxas himself, his parents threatened the board with lawyers. I guess his parents sincerely cared about him having a good time with his boyfriend at prom. They were accepting like that. Not only that, but the school board people realized they needed to roll with the times, too.

"So guess what?" Axel casually asked me one day at lunch. "Apparently, they put Mr. Ansem on probation (like, you know, Mr. Harrison will be more in charge) and are making him take 'sensitivity classes.' It's great that asshole finally got what was coming to him."

I nodded happily in agreement. "Yep, enjoy your prom next weekend, guys."

"Oh, we will. And I'll test my new dance moves," he whispered in my ear with a smirk. What a pervert! Well, at least on the outside. On the inside, he was a real sweetie who cared about the people important to him. And he would do anything for them.

* * *

Prom weekend passed with me staying up late Saturday night watching anime. Dad was really nice to let me get away with it. Still, I couldn't help but allow my mind to wander to that fateful dance.

I pictured myself in a lavender floor length dress, strapless, as I gracefully walked out onto the dance floor. Stretching my hand out, I had someone else's hand slip into mine. Riku was there, wearing tuxedo pants, a white dress shirt with loosened black tie, and a sweet looking black hat. We started dancing, weaving in and out of our moves while his gorgeous, smoldering eyes never left mine. So much passion, so much tenderness...

"You still up?" Sora asked wearily, waking me up by going down the stars. He couldn't sleep.

"No, I guess I wasn't." I shook my head, feeling some tears coming. "I'm going to bed."

I really wished that dream had been real. I could have danced with him all night long.

* * *

The next two weeks passed with people talking eagerly about the prom and the after party while I miserably wondered if I had a shot with Riku. That dream reminded me of the astronomically impossible chances of me being with him. For some reason, it almost got to me, and then I bumped into Yuffie early one Tuesday morning.

"Hey, how was prom?" I asked her, because I knew she went with Demyx as friends.

She grinned cheekily. "Took you long enough to ask. I never expected to slow dance with Dem for one thing. And he was really sweet to me. I don't know, there's something about him..."

"But, Riku—what about him? Was he there with anybody?" I asked anxiously.

"No, heh, he'd never go to something like that unless it was with a girl he liked. But...you like him."

I blushed and attempted to hide my face with the classic hair curtain. Yuffie playfully threw it back, giggling as she treated me like her little sister or something.

She messed with electric blue streaked black hair. "I told you he was worth it, didn't I? I noticed you guys are great friends now. It's so adorable."

"He wouldn't be interested," I muttered.

"What?"

"He wouldn't be interested...in me," I repeated.

Yuffie crossed her arms across her chest. "Now I wouldn't say that. Gotta go."

She cheerfully skipped down the hall after giving me a quick flashy grin and held the thumbs-up sign. "You can do it, Nami. Tell him how you feel."

But, I couldn't do it. Not yet. Not until I was ready. Until then, I finally managed to be satisfied with having Riku as a friend. We talked every single day now, and I knew by the beginning of May the year would end well for me. In the photo album Selphie gave me, I already had some pics already, some memories that might last forever. I had made plenty of new friends, my grades were slightly better than in the past, and I had learned to be closer with my family. I couldn't believe all that happened in one year. But, for some people, they can lose something that seemed to endure throughout the year toward the end of it. Something like that happened to Marluxia.

On Saturday, after visiting Riku's house mid-morning (we played video games while his sister was at a neighbor kid's house), I decided to ride my bike to the mall. I hadn't been there in a while, and I guessed I could use another casual dress...but for parties only. With $60 in my pocket, I made use of most of it by spending it on that new dress as well as a couple shirts from Hot Topic that were on sale. Another thing I learned from Mom: shop as cheaply as possible. Hungry from not eating since breakfast, I headed down to the food court to have some Panda Express food. As I got my egg rolls, I thought I heard someone call my name. And when I turned around, I saw Marluxia waving at me but with the fakest grin in the world on his face. Things must not have been that great with him.

I walked over to his table (he was surprisingly the only one there) and seated myself across from him. He looked over at my egg rolls and rice.

"Panda Express, huh? I'm more of a sushi guy myself," he told me in a voice I could only assume was supposed to be light. Something was seriously up.

An uncomfortable silence that only happens when no one is sure what to say cut in between us. He barely touched his California roll while I munched on my egg one slowly.

I sighed. "Marluxia, I think there's something bothering you."

His fingers clenched on the edge of the table. "There is."

Silently, I begged and pleaded with my eyes to tell me what was bothering him and that I would never tell anyone. He just sipped his Cocoa Cola before giving in.

"OK, well, here's the deal. After prom, we...um..."

"It's OK," I assured him.

"...Larxene's pregnant..."

Wow. To say the least, I was in total shock. Marluxia didn't seem the type to be as irresponsible as to let a slip-up like that happen. I supposed it could happen to anyone.

Awkwardly, for lack of anything else, I asked, "Did you guys use protection?"

"Condoms? Yeah...yeah, but they broke. We shouldn't have done it in the car."

He laughed wryly but looked very pained, his face drawn and older looking, like he aged ten years.

He continued on despite his pain. "And she doesn't want an abortion, because it goes against her beliefs. She doesn't want to put...the baby...up for adoption, because she doesn't want anything bad to happen when it's older. But...but we broke up."

"She's mad, isn't she?"

"Pissed." He fake smiled again. "Pissed at me, pissed at herself...It's not good. But, when she does get less angry, we'll try again. I want to anyway for the sake of our child. I mean, Larx's dad abandoned her when she was a little kid. I don't want to abandon this kid."

Poor Marluxia was being desperate now, hoping that things would get better. But, I'm afraid he and Larxene had pretty much reached the end of the road. They'd been kind of distant since Halloween.

Or not, but why else would she refuse to wear an anime character's outfit to complement Marl's costume? Maybe it had been the beginning of the end then. Besides, she might probably be more over it than him when this one day in the future would come. It must have really hurt him.

At that moment, his blue eyes glowed. "But, until then, maybe _we _could..."

Great, now he was looking for a rebound. So sad and pitiful...Marluxia only sought this in me probably because I loved anime too and that I was blonde. It couldn't work.

I shook my head. "Sorry, Marluxia, I can't. You just want a rebound to make it all better."

That optimistic yet feeble glow in his eyes faded away then, but he knew I was right. Messing depressingly with his unnatural pink hair, he threw most of his uneaten sushi in the trash. The only thing he cared to finish was the soda.

"I know," he whispered. "Maybe I'll take care of the baby. I'll go to community college, Larx could just go to a better school beyond this place."

Sadly, hating to break the news, I patted his shoulder. "She might want to move on. What would you do then?"

Tears welling in his eyes, he simply answered, "I don't know."

In just two weeks or so, it looked like Marluxia's world had fallen apart. And then it would come back together for an uncertain future.

I felt like I learned too much that day.

* * *

**A/N: ****I don't really believe in being a parent when you're a teenager. However, I wanted to show that people who didn't plan to be parents so soon end up being so anyway. It's sometimes accident. It's kind of sad, too. Because it could happen on the very first time. Or something. For some reason, it felt right to do a serious chapter like this one. Makes it all the more real, I think.**


	32. SoCalled Friends

**A/N: I gotta put up a warning here: there is strong language in this chapter. No "f" bombs, though, because I refuse to ever put them in a story of mine. This chapter is relatively serious again. I'm not sure if it's realistic, but I've watched "World's Strictest Parents" before, and the kids are kind of like Wakka and those people before they even come to the family. I don't know how to explain it; you'll have to watch it. Meantime, there will be some dark humor, but that won't be until the end of the chapter. I hope I don't offend anybody. But, this is an issue, guys, a real issue.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything off KH. If I did, I could finally afford a Lambourgini (I probably butchered the spelling).**

* * *

**Chapter 32: So-Called Friends**

The last day of school was coming up, and all my friends and I couldn't wait. We were absolutely psyched.

As Zexion told us while he sat with Xion at lunch, "Let's face it, I'm sick of all this stupid homework, aren't you?"

"Totally," Selphie replied. "I'd rather be at the mall doing something important."

"Like checking out the sale at Claire's," I joked, and we all laughed.

Zexion then told us, "The last school paper of the year will be epic. I'm doing reviews of Shinedown and Seether's latest album."

"Let me guess, Zex. One is bashing, the Seether one is praising," Xion assumed.

He nodded with a smile on his face as he gave her a kiss on the cheek. "You know me too well, my crazy hippie chick."

"Aww," Selphie and I cooed, which embarrassed the heck out of the couple.

The following weekend, as I was talking to Selphie on the cellphone, Sora paced about the living room having his own phone conversation. Suspicious about the huge grin on his face, I told Selph goodbye, so I could eavesdrop on his conversation. I pretended to read _Jane Eyre _when I heard him say, "Yeah, Wakka, that'd be great. A party? Today? That's on...short notice. But, what the heck? I'll be over there in a few. Later."

He hung up, looking excited over his apparent luck at going to a weekend party in the afternoon that wasn't even pre-planned. Now that was definitely off. I pretended to smile back and be blissfully unaware of what I just heard.

"Wakka invited me to his house for a party. You'll be fine, won't you?"

My smile became more genuine. "I'm fifteen, Sora, I can handle myself."

"OK, good, I'll be at..."

He told me Wakka's address, which was, like, three blocks away from our house in case I needed him for emergencies. After all, I was his sis, and he was protective over me somewhat in that old-fashioned family way. I watched him out the window as he rode his bike out of there, rain falling down. Rain...Why the heck would there be a party with rain?

Then again, knowing all stupid rich popular kids, Wakka probably had a big house, and they could party inside. Still, it was May, and if anyone would throw a party, it'd be outside. Right? I was confused. Jiji, meantime, got up on the couch to lick his paw and then all over himself. I stared blankly out the window. And another thing: why would Wakka randomly decide to throw a party? His parents must have been away. That had to be it. Likely he invited some of the other preppy posse, too.

"They're up to something, Jiji," I sighed, scratching him behind the fuzzy black ears and making him purr in the process. "I don't know what, though."

He looked up at me with his big lantern-like eyes.

"Hm, unless..." I pondered out loud, subconsciously setting the book aside while doing so. "Unless...No way...You think...?"

I had had this really bad feeling ever since Sora's phone call with Wakka, like something wouldn't be right. Jiji continued looking at me.

Randomly, I stroked his back. "Jiji, you're a genius! Something bad's up, I can feel it. See you in a bit. Hopefully, Mom shouldn't be able to be back with Luxord for a couple more hours yet."

I was treating him like he was a person, but oh well, he was part of the family.

Anyway, I insanely ran outside toward my bike in the rain. As soon as I hopped on, I pedaled as fast as my legs could let me toward one certain address. Whatever this lousy excuse of a party would be, it wasn't good. Sora was a little too naïve to completely trust his popular friends. Especially since Wakka and his best friend Tidus were a bit on the dodgy side. I had absolutely no reason to trust Wakka at this point, what with his rudeness toward me. But, now that I thought about it, there seemed to be a darker side to him. Maybe he...? I pedaled faster and harder as the raindrops were practically pelting me. For once, I didn't care how wet I got. If my brother would end up in trouble, I had to be the one to step up. A divorce in the family had been bad enough, that's all I had to say about that.

Wakka's house was big and blue and almost castle-like in the inside for sure. Whatever, I didn't care where that idiot lived, the sooner I got inside to stop bad things from happening, the better. Once I opened the unlocked door after knocking five times, I heard loud hip-hop music coming from downstairs. I also heard shouting and laughing that sounded almost...drunk? Only one way to find out.

In my hurry, I almost tripped down the stairs but not quite. And the room I entered into shocked me at first by its size. Then, it was a disturbing sight. There were too many alcohol bottles to count, and quite a few of them were carelessly strewn on the floor. I think it was vodka, but I couldn't be entirely sure.

Looking at this more in-depth, it just got even more downhill in my opinion. Tidus and Wakka were both blowing pot (obviously) through colored glass bongs. It was sick, so disgustingly, revoltingly sick I could hurl. Probably because I don't believe in smoking pot. I mean, there were kids out there more decent than this, even if they did stuff I disagreed with. But, I knew Wakka was bad, because in between puffs, he made out with his girlfriend Lulu rather explicitly. Like she was his damn concubine or something.

But, that wasn't even the worst sight yet. That was when Tidus slurred, "Come on, Sora, open wide," as he took out a funnel attached to a tube, usually used to force alcohol down someone's throat.

That was when I snapped, because I revealed myself to everyone there by shouting explosively, "WHAT THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU GUYS DOING TO MY BROTHER?"

All the guys there (not just Tidus and Wakka) cursed violently before dropping bottles of vodka and Jack Daniels and all that crap on the carpet. Now, Mr. and Mrs. Mazuda wouldn't be too happy with their son about that, would they? I knocked the stupid device out of Tidus' hand.

Wakka just laughed at me. "Look, guys...what I tell ya? It's...Sora's blonde prude sister. Meet Namanana, boyzz and girlzzz..."

I shook my head at him with disgust. "You can never stop laughing can you, Wakka? Someone could be freaking dead of ODing, and you'd still laugh."

Yuna shakily stood up, holding a bottle loosely in one hand. "And what gives you the right to ruin our fun? Huh? You...you little bitch!"

"Don't talk to my sister that way, Yuna!" Sora yelled, the most sober out of all of them, thank God. Thank God he didn't believe in poisoning himself like they did.

Tidus dropped his bong. "And...and you don't talk to...my girl that way, Tasicki."

Idiot was so high, he mispronounced our last name. Not like I cared. I was mad beyond belief. I was shaking, I was so angry and even scared.

"So," I started out evenly. "Your idea of fun is...is...trying to get Sora to put that—that _shit_—in his system? That's your sick idea of FUN?"

Lulu, that pathetic girlfriend of Wakka's, started shrieking with laughter that—yeesh, Harry Potter reference—could have come from Bellatrix Lestrange.

"Aw, what's dat? Poor liddle freshie don't realize...that we cool people do this all the damn time? We like it that way...So stop bi—"

I punched her in the face. "Shut up, dammit! Shut your who—!"

"Dey, dey..." I think Wakka tried to say "hey", but his stupid drunken brain couldn't articulate right. "Lula's...a high class lady. Her name was Lula...she a showgirl..."

And he laughed yet again. Heck with it, I punched him square in the jaw next.

So, I had two kids bleeding from my awesome fist punching skills. The guy in particular I had wanted to hit since forever. His girlfriend...well, that slut asked for it. Who cares if she technically deserved it?

"Anybody next? Aw, come on, don't be shy. The General and The Ninja Assassin are always up for an encore," I threatened, naming my fists. And I had never done that before. That was freaking awesome! Meanwhile, those other weak, populaiir sissies shook their heads fearfully. They knew now not to mess with a dude's little sister. Sora's little five foot five sister.

"So, how come you guys didn't invite Kairi. She missed all the fun," I spat at them sarcastically before Tidus replied, "She's...a prude too like you."

This time it was Sora who did the honors by punching his one of many former friends in the jaw, _and _he kicked him in the groin. I clapped.

"You don't call Kairi that. _Ever_," he growled lowly before standing up and staring thankfully, gratefully at me. "Come on, Nam, let's get away from these losers."

I grinned evilly at them all. "Sure thing, bro. And you drunken idiots, listen up. I hope that you all have fun at summer camp...right before Jason Vorhees comes for you. And yes, Wakka"—I glared pointedly at him. "He'll bring his machete, all nice and sharp."

Too weirded out, the losers said nothing, and I got to make the infamous Jason noise.

As soon as we got upstairs, I decided to be all goody two-shoes and call the cops on those meddling kids. That would show them. They would never mess with Sora ever again. In fact, my brother managed to chuckle at the sight of me, sopping wet, using the phone in the kitchen.

"Snitching, are you? My sister?" he asked but grinned.

I nodded and replied half-seriously, "Do you expect me to not do this? They were awful to you. This ain't revenge, it's justice."

"OK, whatever you say."

I cheerfully told the 9-1-1 dispatcher once I got a response, "Yes, I'd like to report an underage drinking party at... Those kids tried to get my brother to join in, but he resisted. What? Yeah, they were about to force him to drink. Seriously, though, when you get downstairs, you'll find some cannabis and more alcohol bottles than humanly possible. Call me and my brother in for questioning later if you need to. By the way, we won't bail those kids out. They're rich enough. No, this isn't a prank. I'm actually so angry I'm using a happy voice. Bye."

Once I hung up, I breathed out, "Whew, they wanted details!"

"You know what, sis? I'm proud of you. You're a hero," Sora commended.

"No, Sora Tasaki, you're my hero," I said in an imitation of Cameron off _Ferris Bueller's Day Off_.

We briefly hugged before riding our bikes home in the rain. Ironically enough, we passed a couple of police cars on the way. For some sick, demented reason, that made both of us laugh. However, we weren't laughing so much when we got home, because Mom and Luxord looked worried to death.

"Are you two OK?" she asked us, suffocating us with one of her mom hugs.

Luxord's face was drawn and almost pale. "What happened? We think that something must have—"

"I'll explain," I told them and proceeded to spill all the details of Sora leaving for Wakka's "party" and the ensuing rescue mission I had to undergo to "save" him.

Mom's face relaxed—even her eyes looked less tense. "Well, good thing you followed your instincts, Namine."

"No, no, I think Jiji knew something was up, actually." I let the cat rub against my legs.

Luxord smiled slightly as he awkwardly patted my kitty on the head. "Cats are supposed to be intelligent if not a little too vain."

Yeah, he wasn't that much of a cat person.

Mom ignored this as she next spoke to Sora. "I know you probably didn't think those kids would have alcohol and drugs at their so-called party, but you need to be more careful, son. Sometimes, even so-called friends can turn on you like that."

He nodded gravely. "I know that now. Don't worry, I'm never hanging with those idiots again."

When we went back to school on Monday, we heard interesting stuff about those same idiots.

Apparently, Wakka was the one who spent the night in jail since he started the party, and his parents wanted to punish him before bailing him out. The other kids only spent a few hours before their rich mommies and daddies bailed them out. Turned out that Sora and I were called in for questioning, but we were just innocent witnesses. 'Sides, Sora had no alcohol in his system, and I was there to drag him out of that bad situation. Even the cop said I was sort of a hero. That made me beam. Anyway, I guess the most awesome thing that happened on Monday was Riku being kind and concerned over us.

"Is Sora OK?" he asked before posing another more meaningful question. "Are _you _OK?"

I smiled reassuringly at him. "Yeah, Riku, we're both OK."

He laughed in relief. "Good, I should have known. I heard you two threw those dumb kids punches..."

* * *

**A/N: ****Sorry, but in this story, Wakka the jerk gets his. I can't believe it. I'm a terrible person, to morph Yuna and Wakka into mean, sadistic people. XD But, there are peeps like that in the world. But, actually, Wakka wasn't originally supposed to be such a jerk in the story. He just became one...or maybe he already was one. I'm not stereotyping, though, that wasn't the intention. I just figured Sora would be a person very susceptible to peer pressure. That's what I believe.**

**OK, now things will FINALLY get lighter again the next few chapters. Actually, there are two left. Wow...And this story is really getting a lot of reviews and crap. Thanks, guys.**


	33. Out with the Old

**A/N: Humor's back with full-force this time around. I will say that in one part, Zexion overexaggerates. But, I seriously hate new Shinedown. I wish old, better, harder rocking Shinedown was back. But, of course, it seems like all the bands are selling out these days. I know it's not really that, it just feels like it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

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**Chapter 33: Out with the Old**

Last day of school, on a Friday the following week—it couldn't have been better than that. And yet, I was kind of sad to leave my friends for solo summer slacking. But, that's why the cellphone was invented. The last of the gossip about Wakka's party and arrest (so, ha, he was the target of it this time around) died down along with major dramas. Supposedly, Seifer tried flushing poor Hayner's head down the toilet, which resulted in an after school fight. Hayner was suspended for three days while Seifer, with his track record, had to stay away for the rest of the year. Not even his goons complained about that. On the girl side of drama, Yuna and Lulu publicly refused to talk to Kairi, who took it all in good stride.

"At least I didn't get high and/or drunk like they did. Smooth," she told Selphie and me.

What was really funny about the aftermath of that incident was the popular kids were in a frenzy, accusing each other left and right of getting the cops on them. They were too stupid to realize _I _was the snitch. But, they were too up in their clouded headspaces to remember anything...except, of course, when they spent some time in jail. Wakka had acted like he had undergone a traumatic war experience rather than spending the night in a cell. And to be honest, I put more faith in our armed forces than a stupid popular guy who took some crap from his parents' alcohol fridge, which was sold the very next day. Anyway, the last day was great. First off, I got my yearbook I ordered for $20 (cheap, surprisingly), so I went around with it.

Right before English class, I tapped on Selphie's locker to get her attention, and I offered her the green colored notebook with the red school logo.

"Sign it," I told her, grinning slightly. "You're the first person I met here. Yeesh, and I'd thought you'd be annoying."

She giggled. "And we talked about how hot celebrity guys were."

As she scrawled in her name (dotting the i's with hearts), I commented, "Well, Selph, let's not get too nostalgic yet. We're not in our senior year yet."

"That's true. Here you go."

"'May Jiji stay Jiji'? Hey, how about me?" I joked at the message she wrote.

"What? I love your cat," she responded with that, and we both laughed.

English class was boring, what with Spit Lady acting all self-important by trying to make us think her word was gospel. She told us about this year and how we would all be going to college one day and we would be in the working world and insert teacher speech clichés. We didn't care. We wanted to watch _Men in Black _like she promised us. By the time she was done, though, five minutes were left.

"Damn," I muttered to Pence. "I wanted to see Will Smith vaporize some aliens."

"I know, right? Oh well, that's what summer's for," he reminded me. "Besides, don't tell me you weren't expecting her to rant. Her last chance, y'know."

Yeah, but still...Will Smith! Aliens! They won't let you remember! Aw, well, on to math.

I ignored Wakka as Mrs. Highwind gave her own lecture, only it was five minutes long before she had us see our final grades on her computer. I was second-to-last to see my grades and found I got a...whoa, I got an A-!

"Good job this year, Namine, you've come far," she told me reassuringly.

I smiled bashfully. "Well, a couple of seniors tutored me."

She peeked over her glasses. "That's fine. Probably the smartest move you could have made."

"Thanks." And I sat down while Wakka looked at me in disbelief.

"Wow, Tasaki, you could have tutored me. An A-? I got a C-!"

I shook my head condescendingly, ready to let my comeback words spill out so he could hear them. "Maybe if you'd asked. Or, wait, I don't think so. Maybe if you'd been less rude to me, I would have helped. Men are pigs, right? Well, Wakka Mazuda, you're the biggest, fattest hog in the bunch. Your slop is gossip and getting a kick out of it. So, I guess the last week or so didn't do much for you, huh? Oh, by the way, how was prison life?"

Wakka clenched his jaw. "You shouldn't have snitched, Sora's little sister."

"I wanted to. I had fun doing it. And Sora says he's going to find a different group to hang with."

"Who?" he asked mockingly. "The skater freaks?"

I aimed my fist at him. "You don't bash Riku or Demyx or Zexion or those guys in front of me."

I'm pretty sure his lower lip quivered upon seeing me threatening to punch him. Science was nothing much. I was eager to be out of that class for the year. Study hall, now, was interesting.

"I'm not Mrs. Johnson," Mr. Xemnas straight-up told us when the bell rang. "You may talk all hour. It is not as though you have any homework."

I sneered to Yuna, "How's your best friend Lula? Last time I saw her, she had a bleeding lip."

She shrugged. "I can't hang out with those people any more."

"Why? Rich mommy and daddy told you not to in order to protect the good family name?"

Her eyes looked stormy before she sighed in order to calm herself down. "Actually, no, I finally realized they're bad people. No wonder I got pushed against a locker."

"Don't start hanging out with me now."

Snorting derisively, she replied, "Wouldn't dream of it," before reading the first _Twilight _book all over again. She might never change, even with that incident. No wonder Rikku didn't brag about being related to her. Tigers don't change their stripes. Meantime, Axel signed his name with a message by Pence's simple signature in my yearbook without asking me. Oh well, I couldn't expect any less or any more.

I read his message, which said, "Stay gold, have a rad summer," while Axel chuckled and messed with his spiky red hair.

"I referenced _The Outsiders_! Cheesy, I know, but...have you read it?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I read it. Sad book."

"Yeah, it was sad but good. Anyway, wow, I'm gonna be a senior in four hours. I guess I'll have to live it up for 365 days straight."

My eyes widened. "That's quite a goal. You sure you're up to that?"

"Oh yeah, definitely. Who wouldn't? I'm getting read to get out of here. Break free. I'm telling ya, _Easy Rider_. But, of course, I'll miss Mr. Xemnas."

The teacher himself peered up from his newspaper. "Don't kiss up to me, Mr. Iwasaki."

Axel's green eyes sparked with amusement before he told me in a lower voice, "They say he's going to replace Mr. Ansem, cuz that old dude's gonna resign, not like anyone's gonna miss him. And without his puppet master, Mr. Harrison is planning on retiring now. It's great. It's like what you said that one day, the times they are a-changin'!"

"Now, Mr. Iwasaki, I heard you. And I wouldn't advise spreading rumors. However, in this case, it is true I will be replacing Mr. Ansem."

Everyone except Yuna cheered.

Mr. X looked confused. "Odd, I never considered myself a popular teacher."

Axel stood up and cleared his throat like he planned on making a speech. "Well, Mr. Xemnas, you don't give a crap. We respect that. And you let us talk in study hall. But, most importantly, you don't take crap from anybody."

Mr. Xemnas inclined his head. "I suppose so. And since this may be the last time I'll see you and your ridiculous hair, I must say that you've been my favorite student. You actually remind me of myself when I was young."

I "awwed" along with everyone else while Axel smirked. "I gotta hand it to you, man, I'm touched. If I don't say so myself, I just might cry."

"Not in here please, Mr. Iwasaki."

It was too bad study hall had to come to an end for the year and probably forever as a memorable class. I wouldn't get to hear Axel's and Mr. Xemnas' debates. And I would miss Axel's shades, but I was sure I would see them again next year. I wouldn't miss Yuna, though, too full of herself for my liking. The bell rang for lunch, and everyone, miraculously, told Mr. Xemnas goodbye, even me.

"You know that being VP might lose some of the fans you have," I pointed out.

I thought a smile flickered on his face. "I wouldn't expect anything less, Miss Tasaki."

"Later, Mr. X."

He lifted his hand in parting farewell, and I hurried off toward lunch. On the way, I ran into Demyx and Zexion.

"Sign my yearbook, guys. Please," I begged them while they were waiting for Riku to put his stuff away.

Demyx smiled brightly. "Sure thing, we'll do anything for friends of Zexion's girlfriend."

"Shut it, Demyx, you're being cliché," Zexion fake groaned. "By the way, what'd you think of my reviews?"

"The Shinedown one was hilarious," I assured him, remembering that piece well. "I love how you worded it. 'The biggest sell-outs so far this decade, maybe our generation.' That was a good one!"

"Thanks, I mean this message by the way," he told me, giving me back my yearbook.

Dem told me in writing to "live life my way." Zexion's message was "watch out, the sun gives you cancer."

I fake grinned at the shorter guy's considerably less deep message. "How fitting, Zex. The summer is all about the sun, and you tell me to watch out for it. Thanks for looking out for me."

He chuckled. "Any time. Looks like Riku's ready. Let's go, Dem."

"See you in our last French class of the year, Namine." The blond guy waved bye to me.

While eating lunch with Selphie and Xion, Xion got all emotional. "This is our last lunch together. For the year! This is getting me all tearful and stuff."

I patted her hand. "Calm down, Xion, you're actually not calm all the time like a normal person."

She stuck out her lip, obviously begging for sympathy from me. Well, too bad for me, it worked, probably because she's really sweet. Zexion going out with her made sense.

"Can I at least sign your yearbook?"

"No, go find your own," I sort of imitated Napoleon Dynamite and the part with the tots. But, to show I was kidding, I let her sign. Her signature was messy and practically illegible, just as I imagined a hippie would write.

Our inside joke was in here. "'May the Hippie Force be with you.' I like it."

"Me too, that's why I wrote it."

"Yeah, may the Karmic Force be with you doesn't sound as catchy," Selphie agreed.

I shook my head in disbelief. "God, my summer's going to be so boring without you two."

The three of us stood up from our seats and gave each other one big group hug. Once we got over that mushy stuff, Selphie told Xion and me, "We'll spend some time at my house. My mom's cooking can't be beat."

"Then maybe she should have a cook-off with my dad," I joked.

"Eh, I don't know." Selphie grinned back.

Kairi and Sora walked toward us then, and I asked both of them to sign. Kairi had wrote down, "I'll be seeing your brother a lot, have a good summer," and Sora wrote, "I have to see you every day, duh!" I laughed at both of them.

"You two definitely share the same sick sense of humor.

Kairi shrugged one shoulder slightly above the other. "It's not really sick, but it's definitely a sense of humor we share. That's why we click."

"Yep, we'll go away now. It's not cool to hang out with your sister," Sora told me sarcastically but arm punched me playfully. Then, Hayner, Olette, and Pence showed up too for the last minute hanging out before the end of school.

Xion waved at Hayner. "Hey, Hayner, did you enjoy your suspension?"

"No, couldn't. I got grounded."

"We're so proud of him. He barely got a scratch, but Seifer was bleeding everywhere," Olette told us.

I had heard that and laughed outright, because Hayner was considerably less big than Seifer. But, he had all the fight of a rooster, so maybe it made sense.

"Til today?" I asked Hayner.

"Pretty much, my house is prison right now."

Pence patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll party this weekend."

"Hey, you two, sign," I told Olette and Hayner. "Memories trapped in words, people!"

Olette rolled her eyes but smiled all the same. "OK, crazy person."

She and Hayner put "have a good summer" messages since they're the easiest to come up with after all. Plus, we were more like casual friends anyway. When the bell rang for lunch to be over with, Xion teared up. "Our last lunch! Of the year!"

French class resulted in us watching _Ferris Bueller's Day Off_, which made my day. Mr. Xigbar reluctantly shut it off two minutes before the bell. My last art class. Demyx, Pence, and I groaned, because we were at the part when Ferris and his friends got into that restaurant.

Shaking his head, Mr. Xigbar mentioned with nostalgia, "What a classic. But, don't skip school, kids, and don't drag your uptight friends into things like that."

"And don't steal people's cars!" Demyx added.

"Exactly. Be legal, guys, be legal this summer."

We all droned, "All right, all right," while our teacher chuckled.

I had some bittersweet feelings about leaving art class for the year after today. For one thing, at least I wouldn't be in the school building for three months. On the other hand, I wouldn't get to talk with the artsy kids, my people. They'd been the ones to show me new techniques I could use to expand my creativity. Most of all, they became my friends, the ones I could have conversations with about art.

No Yuffie or Roxas or...or Riku, who unexpectedly meant something to me. I didn't quite know what it was yet. It was definitely more than looks for me.

"I'll miss you guys," I told my three friends in art.

"Oooh, you got your yearbook with you! I'm signing it!" Yuffie excitedly flipped through the pages to the very back and signed real quick. "Don't read what it says until after class, OK?"

Impressed at how she'd been so eager, I asked, "Um, why?"  
"You'll see."

Roxas took his turn. "You can read this in class, OK?"

I nodded. "Sure. 'Have a good summer, don't drink and drive.' OK, dude, now that's unusual. I don't even have a permit yet."

"Exactly," Roxas said mysteriously. "I wrote it in Axel's yearbook, and he got pissed at me. Then again, I think he was kidding. Dude's insane like that."

Riku just awkwardly looked down at his desk without saying anything. Sure, he later talked to me, but it seemed like he was holding back on something. Before I went to P.E., I looked at Yuffie's message to see if it had advice. Well, it kind of did, if "tell Riku how you feel some time" was any sort of advice. But, I knew she had her heart in the right place. Most ex-girlfriends would be too bitter and resentful to pass knowledge on unless it was "he's a dirtbag." Surprisingly (or not), Yuffie was nothing like that, and that was so cool. Anyway, the last day of P.E. was peaceful and nothing like a war-torn country. No one would get injured, and I wouldn't get bonked on the head for the thousandth time.

Kids were shouting cheerfully once that final bell rang, including me. I had that old classic "School's Out" by Alice Cooper stuck in my head. I was practically jamming inside my head as I walked really fast to my locker. I hugged Selphie goodbye before she hurried out of there. After all, on the last day, everyone wants to get out quick. We had the whole day to say goodbye or my personal favorite "later", since it does mean see you soon. But whatever. I put what little I had left inside my locker inside my tote bag, including a computer pic of L, so cute! Riku came up to see me then.

"Um, hey, Nam," he started saying quietly, awkwardly scratching the back of his head. "You still have that yearbook with you? Oh. Well, can I sign it?"

I grinned. "Sure, sign away, dude."

He shyly smiled at me before he wrote stuff down real quick and returned it to me. "So, see you this summer?"

"Hope so," I said.  
"K, later."

I looked at what he wrote. Nothing worth noting, just "have a good summer" like we were no more than very casual pals. But, we were nothing like that, were we? We had been very good friends so far. That message hurt me for some strange reason. Guys wouldn't confess in a yearbook message, right? Still, I had to go home, happy that school was over.

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**A/N: ****Kay, epilogue's after this. Tis the end. Goodnight, everybody!**

**...**

**Nah! I kid, I kid! XD There's technically one more eventful chapter after this, THEN the epilogue. 'Sides, I'm a bad liar, so you guys might not have even believed me. Good, I wouldn't have wanted you to! Anyway, guys, I'm glad for all the reviews and hits this story's been getting. Yeesh, this fic's way more popular than my KH Christmas AU. Thanks, y'all!**


	34. Just Another Bash

**A/N: Well, here we go. Just this chapter, then a rather short-ish epilogue. So, this is it. I'm kind of sad to be ending this. Someone suggested a sequel, but I don't know. I'm usually not the biggest fan of sequels because of time constraints. But, see, that's the problem. So, there probably won't be a sequel, because I never considered it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything off KH.**

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**Chapter 34: Just Another Bash**

You know how you're all psyched for summer, and then when it comes, you have nothing to do? That was the first three weeks or so of break for me. I barely went outside due to boredom, watched more TV than a young, growing girl should, and spent two hours texting Selphie at one point. Yep, I had very limited options. Sora's booming social life, in the mean time, couldn't keep him at home. On his cellphone, he would plan dates with Kairi and all that popular guy stuff. His life was going somewhere...at least in terms of a summer social life. Like I said, I found myself constantly bored. Much to Mom's annoyance, I would sleep until ten o'clock in the morning every day. I couldn't help it, though. You can only be isolated for so long.

Then, Sora got off the phone one day, the biggest, widest grin plastered on his face.

"Someone's happy," I said one afternoon while watching _Scrubs _and playing catch with the remote. "What is it?"

He practically laughed out of happiness when he replied, "Kairi's invited us to her sixteenth birthday bash. She wanted one after going to mine."

"I just hope there's no dram—"

"There wasn't any at mine, was there?"

I sighed heavily. "Nope. So, it's at the community center?"

"Yeah, if only Kingston had more options, huh?"

To be honest, I couldn't think of a better place to have a teenage party than the community center but oh well. I guess my bro and I had different opinions on that matter. Plus, I could put my new dress to great use.

"When is it?" I asked him.

"This Saturday night, it's gonna be sweeet!"

And I bet it would be. Hopefully, Wakka and Tidus and those other freaks would be off the invitee list. It was great to know that I would finally have something to do. The fact I'd be going to my third party within a year in a few days was awesome. So, when the time came around on Saturday night, I put on a dark purple dress with a Hawaiian flower pattern, the perfect summer dress. I refused to wear sandals, though, but my pair of flats.

Once Mom dropped us off at the community center, I was attacked by Xion who wore a dress too, oddly enough. Hers was a light pink dress that reached down to her knees and had straps. She wore those woody looking sandals to go with it.

"Aw, you're cute again!" she told me, pretending to squeeze my cheeks like my Grandma Ronnie. "How do you do that?"

I put a finger to my lips. "Not tellin', it's a Tasaki secret."

"Yeah right," Sora scoffed as he put up the collar of his blue plaid overshirt (not cool by the way). "I'm a man. Men don't have beauty secrets."

Xion teased him. "Oh yeah, how about that hair? That probably has beauty secrets."

My brother shook his head and walked straight inside where everybody else was doing the Cupid Shuffle.

"Oh, so 2007," Selphie pretended to be picky about the music as she came up from behind us. She wore simple jeans and a T-shirt. For once, she wasn't being that girly. I snapped a cellphone picture of her.

"Eh my God, she's being a tomboy. I'm posting this on Facebook," I said in a weird voice, probably my Yuna impression. I was glad to notice from peeking in through the door that she hadn't been invited. Probably because she was part of the group that tried to corrupt Sora.

Selphie lightly punched me in the arm. "Oh, shut up, we all know you don't have a Facebook. And seems like you're not interested any more."

I made a "sort of" motion with my hand. "Not really, I think it's just because I wanted a social life."

Xion hooked arms with me. "You do too have a social life. Us!"

"You guys," I repeated optimistically with a smile before we went inside together. "Steal my Sunshine" was playing on the stereo system, and everyone (well, almost everyone) was on the dance floor. I had no idea anyone else even knew the existence of that song, but I guess it's still more popular than I gave it credit for. There was a pretty sweet food table calling my name right now, though.

"God, Namine, you eat a lot," Selphie observed while I shoved a handful of Cheetos down my throat. "And you never gain weight. You're damn lucky. I could eat this Oreo cookie"—she held it up—"And I could gain, like, twenty pounds. You're one of those chicks, aren't you?"

I shrugged. "Guess so."

Xion nodded. "I'm like that, too. But, I'm a hippie vegan, so I'll stay fit forever. I hope. About time Zexion got here, fashionably late again. Only they can pull it off, those guys."

Shocked, I felt a bunch more Cheetos fall out of my mouth, totally ungraceful-like and all that. If Zexion was here, then that must mean...

Obviously, Dem was here too, and so was Riku, who looked as handsome as ever. Of course, he would be since it'd only been a month when I last saw him.

Upon seeing Riku, Xion winked at me. "Look who it is. It's weird how you two always end up at the same parties."

"Yeah." I gave her that. "But, nothing ever happens. Like last time, nothing, and the time before was brutal."

"You've come out of your shell, though. That's something. I got to go see Zexion. Peace!"

Selph and I held up our peace signs in return before she gracefully skipped off.

As we noticed her kissing him right in front of his friends, Selphie smiled at the two of them. "Aw, they're so cute together! Meantime, let's enjoy being single, shall we?"

"We shall. Oh yes, we shall." I laughed at my own lame joke. "Just eating and getting fat."

"I will anyway," Selphie giggled light-heartedly.

We were silent for a while then, snacking on food to please our inner fat girls or whatever. It was great for a while. Then, I started another topic.

"So, how come you don't have an eye on a guy?"

She thought about it for a bit. "Hm, well, everyone's paired up. I'm waiting for the right guy."

I sympathized with her. "Yeah, I see what you mean."

Playing with her light brown locks, Selphie elbowed me in the ribs. "I don't think you'll be off the market for much longer."

Thinking of Riku and how he probably didn't like me like that, I responded with, "Selph, I must say that you're an eternal optimist."

"Oh, don't be like that. I—oh, Blink 182, Blink 182! We got to mosh!"

She dragged me over to the dance floor, where "Dammit" was currently playing. I felt that rad energy coursing through me while I moshed. For the moment, I forgot about Riku and enjoyed the music. I even sang along to some of the lyrics, but they go so fast. At one point, we actually passed Zexion around, and he was hilariously relatively light.

"I don't know why, but people always end up carrying me in a mosh pit!" he shouted to us over the music. "I would say it's degrading to my size if it wasn't fun!"

We giggled, and Xion joined us with her weird dance moves. We were all partying like that...until the song was over and a slow one came on. It was "Lips of an Angel." Darn it, they _always _have to play that one! Instead of asking Riku to dance, Selphie walked over to the food table with me to drink some pop.

"I'm not depressed, you know. You don't have to follow me everywhere," I assured her.

"I'm more in a food mood tonight. Ha, that rhymed!" She grinned in an easygoing way.

So, we just stood there and watched the couples who looked made for each other right at that moment. Sora held Kairi's waist as they swayed slowly before getting really close, close enough for a deep kiss. I almost wanted to cheer for them, but I thought it'd be rude. The hostess was a vision in a red dress, and she was definitely the star of her own movie. Demyx and Yuffie were together, talking and laughing occasionally at their jokes. Now that was a couple! And of course, Xion and Zexion looked the cutest together, what with their heights and baby faces. Still, part of me hated them all for being happy and together. It made me feel like I could never experience anything like that, a dead, hopeless feeling. Not to sound emo or anything.

When "Party Hard" by Andrew W.K. came on, it hadn't been soon enough.

Yuffie, in her red plaid skirt and rock T-shirt, looked totally awesome and looked glowing as she bounced over toward me.

"Have you told him yet?" she yelled over that hard rock song.

"No! I'm too nervous!"

"YOU CAN DO IT, NAMI! I HAVE FAITH IN YOU! WOOOT!"

She then moshed like a maniac, much to my amusement. It tickled my funny bone. Still...why did she keep pestering me over this? One of these days, I had to convince her Riku didn't have those feelings for me any more. I would live with it. Life was not a fairy tale after all, and high school was definitely not like that.

A few pop and hip-hop songs later, there came another bullcrap slow song. I told Selph I needed air before getting out of there. OK, Namine, it's like what Garnet told you at the Lobster Festival. Deep breaths. So you're single, big deal. You got friends and family. You don't need a guy to like you. You don't need anyone to tell you you're pretty. You're fine. You're fine...

Damn it, teardrops in my eyes. I had to wipe them away. Because if anyone saw...

"Namine?"

Dude, you did not go after me. That would never happen in a million years.

But, he had. He had like in so many clichés I'd seen in movies or read about in books. But, why, though? Why bother...with me? He was out here now, hands in his jeans pockets. He was wearing a black Led Zeppelin T-shirt, baggy blue jeans, and that beanie. Why do I always pay attention to details?

"What are you doing out here?"

"I needed some air."

He smiled slightly. "You always need air, even in the wintertime like at Sora's party. Remember?"

"I would think I'd remember my own brother's party," I joked.

He chuckled. "True. But...hm, it seems that you need air when a slow song's playing."

How could he have possibly caught on? This went against every theory I had about stuff like this and dudes. Dudes never noticed details! I so thought I was right about that.

I stuttered, "Wh—What? H—How do you know that?"

"Just a guess."

"It's not like any guy would slow dance with me," I found myself saying. "No one ever asks. I know I should, but I'm, um, dumb."

I barely heard him whisper, "You're not."

God, he was so gorgeous when he softened up like that! And his aqua eyes looked pretty that I was practically lost in a trance. He smiled again, this time to show me that he meant it.

As he stepped closer toward me, I thought my mouth went dry, and I knew I was shaking especially since his voice dropped a couple volumes.

"You're smart and funny and...beautiful, definitely cute."

Beautiful? Did he just call me beautiful? My defenses were down. I started crying.

"Hey," he whispered in my ear, holding my shoulders gently. "What's wrong?"

Shuddering, I confessed, "Beautiful isn't usually something guys call me."

Riku held me closer to him. "Then they should call you that a lot more often, shouldn't they?"

"It's not that, technically." I wiped at my eyes. "It's about October."  
He looked confused for a second before he realized what I meant and nodded in understanding. Sometimes, I felt that I couldn't be forgiven for that one incident.

Stroking my hair, he asked softly, "You're still hung up on that?"

"Y—You have no idea. I thought you'd never forgive me for yelling at you."

"There was nothing to forgive."

My lips shook. "B—But, y—you don't like me any m—more."

Without a second thought, Riku hugged me while I cried into his shoulder. His arms were so warm and caring that I could have stayed in them forever. But, once I stepped back from his embrace, he wiped away my remaining tears. "I never said that. Look, Namine, you're beyond amazing. I've liked you since I first saw you. I never stopped."

More tears were in my eyes, but they were fairly happy ones this time as I smiled sweetly at him. Riku and I stood very close to each other. And when I looked into his teal eyes, there was this burning emotion there. I thought I would never see it.

"I never stopped liking you either," I told him, and somehow, I knew it was the truth. His smile reached his eyes, and he leaned toward me, closing the distance when his lips touched mine. My first kiss! And it was nothing like I'd ever experienced. I always figured his lips were soft, and they were as they moved against mine. I loved this feeling. My fingers knotted in his silver hair while I continued stroking it.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, we separated.

"Wow...That was great!"

Riku smiled appreciatively at my comment. I swore I had never seen him smile as much as tonight. But, then again, we told our feelings for each other. Of course we'd be happy! I could imagine the expressions on everyone's faces if they'd seen us.

I told him airily, "You do realize your life will be screwed up from now on."

He laughed out loud and shrugged. "Could have fooled me."

And so we went back inside together, his arm wrapped around my shoulders. When Selph saw this, she freaked.

"AHHH, YOU GUYS ARE TOGETHER! OhmyGod, ohmyGod, ohmy—!"

I clapped a hand over her mouth. "Silence, Chatty One! I'm not sure if we're together yet, but I guess we'll be soon. Right?"

Riku nodded. "Oh yeah, definitely. Selph, it should be official after the next slow song."

I couldn't believe how confident he was. "That would be great, Riku."

Xion and Zexion then came up to us, our resident hippie playing with our resident cynic's hair. "You have awesome hair, Zexy. It's all emo-ish and crap."

"I prefer to call it progressive alternative, Xi. Oh, Riku, so that's who you were with?"

A smirk quirked Zexion's lips.

I assured him, "What was gonna happen was gonna happen."

He grinned. "Well, congrats, you two. I'll tell Kairi to play a slow song right now."

Sure enough, a slow song came on two minutes later, and it was "The Only Exception", one of Paramore's latest and greatest. How fitting. So, Riku led me out to the dance floor, where once again all the couples were out swaying slowly. Only this time, I was one half of one of these couples. And suddenly, I didn't need any air or feel the inclination to go outside at all.

I laughed slightly. "I've never slow danced in my life before, so if I step on your toes..."

He waved a hand aside. "Don't worry about it, I'll lead."

So, he did with an expertise that made me feel less nervous. OK, but I was still feeling a bit nervous about this. We were very close to each other after all.

Riku stroked my hair as he pulled me nearly to his chest. This was closer than when he held Selphie at Sora's party. Probably because he really liked me.

"You really like me, don't you?" I asked him, still in shock that this was real, and I wasn't dreaming.

Tapping at my nose, he just said, "Yeah, you're cool. You're different. I like that, too."

All these things he named off about me he liked. Wow. "Pinch me."

"Why?" He pinched my arm lightly anyway.

"Nope, not dreaming."

He chuckled under his breath before our foreheads were pressed against each other. Then, we kissed again, in front of all the couples whom I thought I heard cheering. By then, the song was over, much too soon for my liking. At that point, Sora and Kairi came up to Riku and me.

"So, Riku, plan on dating my sister?" my brother asked teasingly yet seriously.

Riku blushed. "Definitely, maybe in about a week or so."

"Well, don't hurt her, or else we won't be on speaking terms."

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**A/N: ****I thought the slow song Riku and Namine danced to was rather fitting, no? XD So, yes, guys, they're finally, FINALLY together. Made it official. I personally think it's a cute pairing. I know I didn't mention Axel or Roxas, but they were at the party and so were Marluxia and Larxene. This was just strictly in Namine's point of view this time. **

**Oh, and yes, I had a similar conversation with a friend about my weight just like the one with Namine and Selphie.**

**Also, this is really unrelated, but on IFC, they're showing Freaks and Geeks again! XD It's become one of my new favorite shows, considering I was too young for it when it originally aired. That show's a good example of mixing comedy and drama like in this story. Anyway, I hoped you liked this fic, guys. The epilogue will be up tomorrow!**

Sora laughed after what he just said, because he knew things wouldn't go badly with their friendship at least. Meanwhile, my new boyfriend (I hoped I wasn't dreaming this time) said he wouldn't do anything like hurt me. It was genuinely sweet of him.


	35. Epilogue: Ocean Waves

**A/N: Wow, dang, can't believe I'm ending this. I never expected this story to do this well (even though I say that with all my stories XD), so thank you readers and reviewers alike. XD I especially want to give shout-outs to Rawkstar Vienna, Sovereign Beta, and JesusisLove for all of your awesome reviews. And the rest of you who've put in your fair share of random reviews, thank you. XD Now, I'm gonna wrap this story up.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

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**Epilogue: Ocean Waves**

The ocean. It's been that one constant in my life since the day I was born. Even when I moved to Kingston, I knew I could always come back to Destiny where that beautiful ocean is and always will be. With the changing of the tides, my life has also changed. And now, I don't look back on what could have been or what happened in my life. I move on and live in the present in a healthy way. No therapist ever needed to tell me that. Sometimes, you just need to learn that kind of stuff on your own.

My brother Sora is no longer trapped behind his arrogant façade. He's himself again, the older version of my sibling, my childhood playmate, who pushed me in the crashing waves. Learning to move on after a bitter divorce has finally happened at last.

Mom is still with Luxord. Dad is searching for a date now that he has the time to do it. He's sold a painting for $200. Not bad for a guy who's trying to re-master his craft. Paine's still moody but my best friend for life like all of my other three hometown friends. As for my new friends in Kingston, they haven't changed much, only most of them are with people now...well, except Selphie. She told me the other day she's waiting for a new guy, because Xion mentioned that her sixteen-year-old cousin would be coming to town by next school year. His name? Irvine Kinneas. Axel and Roxas are content with the redhead's cheap motorcycle, but everyone knows about Axe's obsession with that Harley.

Pence and Olette unexpectedly hooked up (I hate that term though, so shallow) after Kairi's party. Supposedly, it was an "accidental" kiss, yeah sure. Dem and Yuffie, meantime, are taking their time—they're not even dating yet! Hayner wants to be single until college since he thinks wanting to get into the military will keep him occupied. Zexion is coming up with reviews for his Muzak Korner for next year's school paper issues, the overachieving weirdo. He says that 30H!3 will be on the chopping block, whatever that means. He and my hippie friend are getting along just fine. Those evil popular kids are no longer considered in "the group" by their more sober peers. Yuna is probably relying heavily on Facebook for social interaction this summer, ha! Sorry, can't help it, I was never any angel despite what Rikku and Garnet insist.

In a few months' time, Larxene will be expecting her baby right in the middle of college. Who knows if Marluxia will ever be the same again?

And Riku? Well, as I speak, he is with me now, sitting next to me on the beach in his strong, quiet way. We've only been together a month, but it almost feels like a year. Personally, I have no idea how long we're gonna last. It could be a few more weeks (doubt it though), months, or even years. For now, I prefer not to take things for granted. Every time we go on a date or just hang out (every other beautiful summer day), I live for the now. And I really like him, honestly. I've developed a habit of playing with his silver strands of hair. He thinks it's weird, yet it makes him smile. Hm, can't be too weird then. We've gotten close, closer than I would have expected in terms of having a first boyfriend. He's even talked about his real dad.

His parents were divorced after his little sister Kayla was born. I remember earlier in the year, when I was being depressing and keeping track of how many kids had divorced parents. This may be because I'm more optimistic now, but I don't do that kind of stuff any more. It no longer matters. It's like this one Sarah McLachlan song I heard that goes "we are born innocent" or something like that. Pretty deep lyrics. I think I've figured out the meaning of them. It's sort of like this moment, watching the waves crash and play with Riku next to me. Things can't get better than this. Then, they do with one idea.

"We're swimming," I tell my new boyfriend, getting up and setting my sketchbook aside.

Of course, he looks confused, but at this point, I think he's perfectly used to me being spontaneous. One of my new goals. If I can't be spontaneous, how am I gonna live?

"With our clothes on?" he asks, though starts grinning at the thought.

I kiss him on the lips. He knows me too well. "Darn right we are. And don't chicken out on me. I know why Jiji can't stand the water, but that doesn't mean you can't, too."

Then, he starts laughing, and I know I've got him convinced to do this crazy random thing with me. I'll tell ya right now, it doesn't take much. Must have been the kiss.

I take off my shoes and socks, and Riku's doing the same thing. We hold hands.

"Ready?" I nearly laugh. This is way too much fun. He nods.

We jump right in, the waves crashing over us. But, our hands aren't separated.

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**A/N: ****Aw, a cheesy ending! XD I couldn't resist putting it in there. At least it's not like NCHammer's idea for the worst fanfic that could ever possibly be written (read Kingdom Hearts 2: The Short and Honest Version, prologue). Sure, I named my story after a song lyric, but thank goodness it wasn't a rock ballad. And there were absolutely no vampires. Or an angsty soundtrack. XD It's not Twilight for crying out loud!**

**Yes, there could have been the implication of Selphie/Irvine but whatever. As much as I'd love to make a sequel, I just haven't the time. Besides, I'll leave the story as is. Thank you guys once again for reading. I swear this might have been just a 20-chapter story, but I'm glad it got as big as it did.**


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